Cloudsdale Middle School
by Saphira67
Summary: Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy attend Cloudsdale MS, the most famous and critically-acclaimed middle school in all of Equestria. During their last year before high school, the two fillies' close friendship happens to grow into something far more meaningful. In union with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash tries hard to keep their budding relationship a secret from her cruel, abusive parents.
1. Racin'

WARNING to the theologically sensitive.

Rated for strong language and same-sex shipping.

The main characters of this story, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, are in their early to mid teens.

* * *

"You know, gay, lesbian, bisexual - people are people."

―_ Judith Light_

"...the man of my dreams is a girl."

― _Julie Anne Peters, Keeping You a Secret _

* * *

Cloudsdale Middle School is the most efficient, productive middle school in Equestria. Admission is free, making it a public school, but it has produced more successful foals than any other school in the country. As far as middle schools go, it's in the top four across the entire _world_. The parents of many unicorns and earth ponies pay to have their children made subject to various cloudwalking spells so that they can attend. But of course, pegasi remain the dominant breed within the school's walls. Cloudsdale MS still has its flops, lazies, and dropouts - but what school doesn't?

Fluttershy is being cared for by a wonderfully kind long-term babysitter. Both of her parents are in the White Army and are currently serving abroad, so she has become close friends with her sitter, a beautiful purple mare named Felicity. Felicity is from The French Kingdoms of Guyenne Rae yet speaks The Old Language flawlessly with almost no accent. She's had four children of her own and they've already grown up and started their own lives, but Felicity still looks young and has the energy of youth to match.

Fluttershy's parents are currently deployed in Asmara with Celestia's White Army, helping the Asmaran zebras prevent - and if necessary, quell - a rebellion. Any unrest overseas from Equestria is almost always because of religious differences. Asmara had just declared its official religion to be the same religion that Equestria honors in formal documents and on its currency, so Celestia felt obligated to help them prevent (sure-to-happen) violence caused by that decision.

Fluttershy's on her her way to CMS, riding on Felicity's back. Even as a teen, her flying ability is.. not so great. Her close friend Rainbow Dash has been training and teaching her, though they don't often get the chance because Rainbow's parents are . . strict, to say the least. So most of the time Fluttershy ends up training with Felicity. They practice every day when she gets home from school but so far it has done little good.

It was.. well, pretty obvious before she got her mark.. that anything to do with flying _wouldn't_ be Fluttershy's soul glyph.

Felicity lands at the school's massive crowded courtyard between two of the trees merged into the cloud. Fluttershy quickly hops off. There are very few pegasi her age arriving on the back or in the hooves of another, and it's not something you want to be seen doing. It's like having training wheels on a bicycle long after you're supposed to be able to ride it.

Felicity smiles and hugs Fluttershy gently and quickly, understanding her embarrassment. "Have a good day, Fluttershy! I'll see you later!"

Felicity kisses Shy's cheek then spreads her wings and flaps off. Teenaged foals are landing all about the courtyard. Fluttershy nips at the backpack straps around her chest to loosen them a little, then starts her shy stride towards the school's massive entrance. She looks down at the floor as she walks, going through her classes for today in her thoughts - today's a "B" day. First is homeroom slash study skills, next is magic and science, then mathematics, which precedes lunch. She's really good at those classes. In fact, Fluttershy has a B average overall. It would be an A average if it weren't for the class she has after lunch . . the one that Fluttershy dreads every day. Physical Education. She quickly pushes that from her mind, otherwise she'll be thinking about it all day. So.. after the-class-that-shall-not-be-named, she has -

Fluttershy, so lost in her thoughts, accidentally bumps into a red colt who was walking rather slowly while talking with his friends. Fluttershy eeps quietly and flattens her ears, lowering her head. "Suh-sorry . . " she says quietly, turning her head away.

The large colt blinks and looks down at her when he's bumped into, then shakes his head with a light smile at her apology. Not easy to be annoyed by something _that_ cute. He speaks with a friendly chuckle, "Nah, no need to be sorry. Just watch out, silly filly."

He turns back to his friends while Fluttershy quickly nods and moves away. He's a lot nicer than most other ponies she "wrongs". Shy still keeps her head down but watches where she's going, now. Mostly, anyway. It can be pretty hard to see through her thick, gorgeous mane.

When she walks through the massive doorway entrance - while staying as far away from other ponies as possible (which isn't as much distance as she'd like, considering how many ponies are trying to fit through the doorway at once) - Fluttershy spots Rainbow Dash hovering in the air up ahead. Flying inside the school is forbidden unless you're late for class, which she obviously _isn't_.

Rainbow Dash is the very attractive young mare that defended Fluttershy's honor in a race two years ago, two grades back when they were still in flight school. They've become very good friends since then.

Rainbow is easily the most popular filly in school. She remains independent culture-wise, meaning that nobody can influence her into doing anything. However, she's probably the worst trouble-maker in school. She breaks rules, gets into fights with bullies, skips classes, buuuut... she makes straight-A's. Rainbow is in the top 3% of the school along with Fluttershy (Since PE does not count for much academically). Dash is practically a genius, as far as her own friends are concerned. She's surprisingly nice, if short-tempered. She never holds a grudge.. for long. Pretty much everyone loves her. She "hangs out" with everyone, including the "bad crowd," but she's never committed a crime, done drugs, or even dated anyone yet. The latter is a widely-known fact. Nearly everybody knows that her father is incredibly strict and tolerates her behavior only because of her stellar grades. Most of the colts who are ignorant of her overbearing father have asked, but she's turned them all down.

Even though Dash has spent some time with almost everyone, Fluttershy is one of her best friends. Fluttershy, being so incredibly nice, has some friends, too, but not many because.. well, she's just plain shy!

Poor Shy has been bullied a lot, but Rainbow has come to the rescue on almost every occasion. On those occasions she only found out about the bullying later on, Dash made the offender pay. Often with a prank surprisingly mean for her. For example: when a cruel colt relieved Fluttershy of her lunch during their first year at CMS, that same colt found dead rats, birds, and other small animals in his lunch, his locker, his backpack . . in practically in anything that belonged to him for the next nine school days until he stopped going to Cloudsdale MS. He wasn't missed, though, and Rainbow was never caught.

When the school's vice principal comes into sight, Rainbow quickly touches down. She only just avoids detection and those around her laugh and giggle, adding to the great amount of noise and commotion.

Fluttershy slowly comes to a stop and nips her backpack again to straighten it out, then quickly and shyly runs a hoof through her mane a few times. She carefully and silently walks towards Rainbow, smiling a little, perking up. Rainbow finally manages to break away from the group of friends she's with after excusing herself, heading off to her first class, which happens to be homeroom with Fluttershy. Lucky Fluttershy. Shy trots through the crowd to catch up with the walking Rainbow, who's heading up a flight of stairs. Rainbow somehow hears Fluttershy through the tens of ponies surrounding her and looks down. She smirks a little, waiting for her to catch up before moving on. Fluttershy walks beside Rainbow, instantly forgetting her excitement, replaced with shyness and embarrassment the second she came within five feet of Rainbow. Rainbow's voice cracks occasionally, but she completely ignores it on each occasion. Most colts find it pretty attractive for some strange reason.

'Hey there, Fluttershy. What's up?'

'N-Nothing . . just, um . . another day.'

Rainbow rolls her eyes, spreading her wings a little with a smirk. 'That's what you say every morning when you see me,' she says.

Fluttershy blushes a little and lowers her head more, lowering her ears with it. Rainbow smirks more, lightly nudging Fluttershy's shoulder with her nose, saying with a wink. 'Hey, no worries. I like it.'

Rainbow is somewhat aware of Fluttershy's infatuation with her, but is not sure enough to act on it. She takes whatever opportunity she's presented with to tease Fluttershy, though. Fluttershy blushes and gains an even deeper shade of red, moving a little closer to Rainbow as she walks. Rainbow smirks and looks forward.

They arrive in class a few minutes later, and Rainbow, again, takes a seat that is not her assigned one. She sits next to Fluttershy this period, which she likes to do on occasion. The teacher completely ignores Rainbow, fully aware that challenging her would get nowhere. Fluttershy takes _her_ assigned seat next to Rainbow and lies on her belly with the desk part of her chair in front of her. All the seats are designed to allow their users to sit on their belly or on their hindquarters, and each seat can change positions to do so. The teachers regulate what stance to use depending on what activity is next. Today, the seats are down.

Rainbow and Fluttershy have arrived before about half of the class. The rest of their classmates continue to pour in through the door over the next few minutes until the class is at its limit of twenty-nine students. The tardy horn sounds out just after the last student takes his seat. The little colt is confused at first, but then sees that Rainbow is in his seat. He noticeably blushes and sits in her seat instead.

The teacher, a very tall unicorn that goes by "Mrs. Penn," stands up from her desk after she finishes writing something and slams the door shut with magic. The room immediately goes silent. She is very strict the moment the horn sounds, but an awesome mare when class is dismissed. Rainbow has pointed out, perhaps accurately, that she has multiple personalities. She has a very beautiful voice that really doesn't match her (somewhat scary) appearance. She's a fantastic teacher, though, which is why she's here in the first place. She teaches advanced-placement mathematics on A days and can effectively command _any_ room with her voice.

'Okay, foals. Listen up. There are no classes today.'

Everypony mutters excitedly for a few seconds until Mrs. Penn continues. Rainbow grins at Fluttershy for a moment, obviously happy at this news, before redirecting her attention back to her teacher. Fluttershy shyly returns the smile then looks down, biting her lip before looking back up at Mrs. Penn. She's worried about something, but can't quite tell what. Or even why.

"None for the pegasi, anyway, but this class doesn't have to worry about that. Today the school is going to run races. You can participate as many times as you want against whomever you want, but _everyone **must** _race at least once."

. . . Oh.. must be why.

Mrs. Penn glances at one of the two griffons in the class. 'Including you.' then the other, narrowing her eyes. 'And you.'

Fluttershy lowers her ears. She's horrified, to say the least. So are a few of the other weaker fliers, but to a . . much lesser extent. Rainbow of course is very excited, unaware of Fluttershy's fear. She knows that Fluttershy isn't a great flier, since Rainbow gives Shy lessons, herself, but isn't aware of how her fear affects her flying. Partially the reason their training hasn't been very successful. Rainbow, ever persistent, keeps at it, though.

Mrs. Penn waves a hoof at the class a few times. 'Get out. Go to the courtyard next to the stadium.'

Everyone hesitates for a second, then bolts out the door as Penn repeats herself. Loudly. Once they're walking in the hall, Rainbow ignores everyone else trying to get her attention and moves up beside Fluttershy, smiling at her. 'Hey! You can try the acceleration trick I taught you!'

Fluttershy trots in pace with the rest of the class, which is quickly joined by every other student pouring out from their own classrooms, ahead of their own group. Soon, Penn's class is bringing up the rear in this particular hallway. Shy keeps her head low, replying in a relatively quiet voice ' . . I- . . I could,' she says weakly.

Rainbow glances behind them, then slows down a little bit. Some colts and fillies try to come back with her, but she gives them a look and they understand immediately, making an effort to go back up quickly. Fluttershy looks up now, slowing down with her, a little confused. 'Why are you-..?'

Rainbow waits until they're (mostly) out of earshot of the others, since there's no worry about a teacher demanding that they keep up with the class, then raises one ear, looking at Fluttershy as she walks. 'Alright, what's wrong?'

This.. right here, is why Fluttershy likes Rainbow. ..A lot. Not only is she, literally, the most attractive mare that Fluttershy has ever known, the best athlete in the school, and, perhaps, even the top student.. but, she's caring and *really* thoughtful. She even broke away from the group and told her other friends to back off to respect her privacy. Fluttershy's crush began the day Rainbow defended Fluttershy in the race, but it's gotten bigger and bigger since then as Fluttershy and Rainbow got to know each other.

Fluttershy widens her eyes and turns her head away to hide her face. 'N-Nothing.. nothing's wrong..! Why.. why is.. why do you think something is wrong..?' she asks.

Rainbow rolls her eyes, spreading her wings a few inches across, folding them back as she replies. 'Because you're acting more shy and terrified than usual.' replies Dash. 'And I know your usual . . amount, I guess? But this isn't it. It's way more.'

Fluttershy slows down even more and Rainbow keeps pace, watching Shy now with a concerned expression. 'U-Uhm.. I . . don-.. don't want to . . race..'

Rainbow raises an eyebrow, moving just a few inches closer. 'How come?' she asks. "You don't want to try the stuff I showed you? You actually managed to do some when we practiced!"

'That was when.. it was just you.. and me..'

Shy bites her lip for a moment, speaking even quieter. Rainbow has to strain to hear her voice over the echo of all the commotion in the school. "I can-I can't.. do it.. in front of other.. p-people.." she says.

Rainbow smirks a little and rolls her eyes again. "Whateveeeeer. Why not?"

Fluttershy manages to make eye contact, her eyes wide and shimmering. This even makes Rainbow lower _her_ own ears a little. Poor Shy is practically whispering, "Because they'll see..!"

Rainbow stops for a moment and rubs the back of her own neck with a hoof, "Uh, well.. yeah. That's kind of the point. I know that you're super, unbelievably shy, but.. you've gotta' learn to cope, y'know?"

She sighs, then smiles at Fluttershy, who's stopped beside her. "Here. You only have to do one race. Want to race me? I'll make it close."

Fluttershy blinks, looking at her, "Wh-What? Really..? You.. you'd do that?"

Rainbow rolls her eyes, "Well, duh." She smiles at her again, tilting her chin up a little bit "Just understand that I wouldn't do this for _anyone_ else."

Rainbow's grateful friend perks up immediately, smiling a little. "O-Okay..!" Her fear of flying in front of her peers has not been quelled, but this definitely helps a lot.

Rainbow winks at Fluttershy, smirking just a bit. 'Come on,' she says. 'Let's go!'

Fluttershy watches Rainbow trot off to catch up to the rest of the class and bites her lip. She really.. _really_.. likes Rainbow.

Shy stands up straight and assumes a determined expression, starting to make a promise to herself. She promises herself that she'll tell Rainbow. Tell Rainbow that she.. "like likes" her. Like likes her a lot.

Even the thought of telling her best friend that she has a crush on her fills Fluttershy with dread. Fluttershy starts to catch up, trotting after her. But, as far as she's concerned, she made the promise. She'll have to do it sooner or later. Because she promised herself. She promised. Fluttershy bites her lip harder than usual. Fluttershy always keeps her promises.

* * *

Fluttershy and Rainbow stand next to each other at the front of the line of racers, next up. The course is short and marked with large rings made of cloud, designed for wing sprints. The stands are full of citizens of Cloudsdale and students who have already raced; full ponies and the occasional group of griffins, making up an audience of several thousand viewers. There are many teachers flying around the puffy stands, keeping what peace they can. They encourage cheering and jumping and what not, but no violence which, despite the school's reputation, there usually is a lot of. Since the two close friends first got in line, Rainbow has been challenged to, and accepted, eleven other races.

Fluttershy is staring at the floor, wide-eyed, muttering to herself that it'll be okay - she's racing Rainbow.

They are both sitting on the haunches in the line. Dash is letting Fluttershy lean against her. She rolled her eyes when it first happened, but looked upward and to the side as she hugged Fluttershy with one arm. The instant Fluttershy realized what she herself did.. and what Rainbow did.. her eyes immediately went wide and her cheeks immediately turned red. Rainbow took no notice though, and is still holding her in a soft embrace, so Fluttershy doesn't offer any complaint. At all. As if she could.

There's a three-way race going on the track now between three pegasi Fluttershy has not met. It's neck-in-neck right now, and after about twenty seconds, they're half over. Rainbow gently squeezes Fluttershy before putting her hoof back down. 'Okay, better get ready.'

Shy quickly stands up straight, swishing her tail. She gets up on all four hooves along with Rainbow, who whispers quietly. 'I'll make it close until the last second, then pull ahead.'

'Th-Thank you,' says Shy. 'For doing this.. really..'

Rainbow snorts, playfully giving Fluttershy a gentle shove at the shoulder. 'Hey, no problem.' she assures. 'What're friends for, right?'

Fluttershy smiles and nods a little, feeling a lot better. 'B-but . . you- . . Yeah . . '

Rainbow ignores the ponies calling for her attention behind her, giving it to Fluttershy instead. She always does this whenever Fluttershy talks to her or waves, or does anything to try and interact with Rainbow. After all, she _does_ consider Fluttershy to be her best friend.

The only female pegasi of the three foals currently racing pulls ahead at the last second to take the victory. Rainbow smirks at Fluttershy, 'Alright, here we go.'

The announcer who sits in a sky box in the stadium proclaims the victor, then reads the names for the next three races, as he does each time. 'Okay, everyone! Next is Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, then Terminal Velocity, Cloud Whip, and Daring, then Ballad and Rock Round! Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, take your places!'

Rainbow starts to walk out on the track, making sure to keep pace with Fluttershy. Mostly to make sure that poor Shy is still capable of moving.

Fluttershy is indeed terrified, but does her best to focus on the fact that she's just racing her best friend, Rainbow . . That's it . . just that . . no audience . . at least, they're not watching her . . they're . . they're watching something else! . . Okay . . she can do this . .

Before Fluttershy even knows it, the announcer starts the countdown. Rainbow nods sideways at Fluttershy, but she doesn't even notice.

'Three!'  
'Two!'  
'One!'

A nearby official fires a hoofslap starter revolver into the air (in a direction free of pegasi), causing Fluttershy to eep and fly off. Rainbow gives her a half second head start which would be significant in any other race, but is barely noticeable here. Rainbow flies directly beside Fluttershy, strongly resisting the urge to pull ahead like she's done in practically every other race, ever.

Fluttershy starts to pant after just a short while, but is very happy to see that she's already half done after only thirty seconds! That's actually better time than a _few_ ponies could pull, at least! This encourages her and she picks up her speed a little more. Rainbow matches easily but smiles, briefly glancing at her friend. Mostly to watch her form. Shy is doing far better than Dash thought she would. This is still a really slow speed for her but she doesn't mind too much. She'll make up for it in the next few races.

Fluttershy achieves what she believes to be her maximum speed only because she's managed to completely forget where she is, just focusing on the fact that she is flying with her best friend. Dash grins and pulls ahead a little bit, slows down to let Fluttershy past, then again shoots past her just before the end, crossing the finish line.

Rainbow soars up and lands on a vacant cloud nearby since her next race isn't for another four minutes or so. Fluttershy sloppily navigates up there, landing next to her, staring at Rainbow while panting, embarrassment forgotten for now.

Rainbow shifts around a little to get comfortable, then lies down on her belly. She smirks up at Fluttershy. 'Hey. You did a good job.'

Fluttershy blinks, then, all at once, the sound of the audience hits her again. She quickly sits down on her own belly next to Rainbow, looking down and away to the side, the direction opposite Rainbow. Rainbow laughs a little at Fluttershy's blush, saying 'Well! You did!'

Fluttershy makes a very quiet "eep". She manages to speak, shyly looking back over at Dash. Still unable to make eye contact, though. 'Th-Thank you . . For . . for that. R-Really.'

Rainbow smiles happily at her and, unbeknownst to Rainbow, her tail swishes from side to side a few times. 'Yeah. Sure,' she says.

Fluttershy lowers her ears, speaking very quietly. It takes almost all of her courage to simply say, 'You're really nice . .'

Rainbow raises an eyebrow at Fluttershy. 'Did you just _barely_ realize that?' she teases. When Fluttershy lowers herself further, she smirks and says 'Hey, Fluttershy. I'm just kidding. Yeah, I know. Thanks. You're really nice, too. And cute.' she tilts her head for a second then looks forward, blushing ever so slightly, thinking perhaps she went too far with that one. Dash says. 'You're perhaps a little _too_ nice.'

Fluttershy pretty much froze up when Rainbow complimented her appearance, not even blushing, now just staring outward toward the racetrack with wide eyes. They both stay quiet for an entire minute before Rainbow breaks the silence 'You've never dated anyone,' she says, smirking. 'And I could _easily_ set you up with someone if you wanted.'

Fluttershy inhales with a stutter, the blood finally rushing to her cheeks, making them bright red almost instantly. Very red. She opens her mouth several times as if about to speak but closes it each time, incapable of saying anything just yet. After another fraction of a minute, she manages to work out the words, still unable to make eye contact. 'Uhm.. n-.. no-.. no thank you..' she finally manages to say.

Rainbow smirks at her behavior, then rolls her eyes at her answer. 'Oh well. That's a _damn_ shame for colts everywhere.'

Fluttershy eeps quietly, covering her head with her wings. She has to tell her now. She urges herself on in her thoughts quietly. _Come on, Fluttershy..! This is the perfect-.. um.. sort of perfect.. time to tell her!_

Shy starts to beg herself in her thoughts, but unfortunately, Rainbow's name is called for her to be summoned to the line of racers.

Rainbow looks at Fluttershy, standing up. 'Well, don't fall asleep!' she exclaims, laughing. 'I want you to watch me beat all of them.' She smirks as Fluttershy peeks out through a wing. '_All_ of them! I have a six-way race, too,' she says proudly.

Fluttershy hides behind her wing again, devastated that her chance is gone. She squeaks out, 'Ok-okay..'

Rainbow gently presses a hoof against Fluttershy's side for just a second before flying off into the air toward the line of racers-in-waiting. Fluttershy lowers her wings slowly before gently folding them back, watching her go. She lowers her ears for the last time today, quietly exclaiming in disappointment. 'Nnnh~..'


	2. Truancy

Warning: Language in some chapters from now on.

* * *

Rainbow peeks an eye open. Mm. Another morning. She glances at the mechanical clock next to her, reading 0630. Exactly thirty minutes to get ready for school. She sighs quietly, pushing off her blanket. She rolls over onto her belly, facing her pillows.

She gets what she wants from her parents . . sort of, because her parents know that Rainbow is their future. One thing that Dash cannot have, however, is freedom.

Nor can she overcome the devastating truth that her parents don't want, or love her. It's an odd relationship that Rainbow has never understood, but it could be much worse. But not by much.

Rainbow's mother, after having Rainbow Dash, was rendered incapable of having another foal due to serious medical complications she experienced in childbirth. This was one of two reasons she wasn't kicked out the door when she learned to speak. The second is that she shows potential - she's gotten straight-a's since her high-standard preschool, throughout flight school, and so far, throughout middle school.

Rainbow has been verbally abused since she was old enough to talk. Beatings were very rare, but they still occur. She doesn't get beaten anymore because they depend on her and her future now. They just yell and scream at her, now. It doesn't make sense to Rainbow - she's obviously not going to support them when the day comes. If anything, she'll have them imprisoned. Unfortunately, as much as she'd like to do that now, it isn't an option at the moment.

Luckily, Rainbow was shown at a young age that not everyone is like her parents. Rainbow's grandparents visit occasionally and they just love her so much. They show her that she is appreciated, intelligent, beautiful, and above all, loved. Thankfully, her grandparents showed Rainbow enough of all that during her young foal development stages for her subconscious to acknowledge that life is worth living. Dash's parents are angels when the grandparents arrive. They actually are kind people - just not to their daughter. At all. No one who knows them would guess in a million years that they abuse their child.

Rainbow steps off the bed, but stops with two hooves on the bed and two on the floor to stretch out, yawning. She hops the rest of the way down then stretches out her wings, yawning again. She keeps her wings spread out as she walks toward her bathroom. Once she gets to the door, she nudges it open with her nose then moves inside.

_Fluttershy, _Dash thinks.

She sighs, deciding to enter this emotional limbo again as she brushes her teeth. She uses a toothbrush that rests in place on an apparatus designed for holding it in place. She looks at her reflection in the mirror in front of her as she begins moving her head to brush, closing her eyes a moment later. Fluttershy's just a friend. A close friend. But still. Rainbow likes her far more than she should.

_Ugh. I need to figure this out . . Dammit, Fluttershy - why do you have to be so cute.. nice.. sweet._

Rainbow sighs again, opening her eyes.

She finishes brushing her teeth and pulls away, raising an ear as her father shouts out from downstairs. 'Rainbow!' he yells. 'You have school in twenty-five minutes! Get up and move your slow ass!'

Dash frowns a little and bangs a hoof on the counter to let him know she's awake.

After a few moments of silence, Dash closes her bathroom door door and locks it with her teeth, not that it would do much, then noses away the shower curtains. She steps into the bathtub then pushes the curtains back, leaning down to pull on the shutoff valve that switches the water flow from the bath faucet to the shower head. She starts the water flow with her hoof, shivering as the freezing cold water hits her. She just stands there as the water gradually gets warmer until it gets hot enough to start making the skin under her fur coat red. She closes her eyes and exhales slowly, using the pain as a brief respite from the world in general, letting it consume her senses and her thoughts into oblivion. Just before she has to keep herself from shouting, she slams a hoof on the control to quickly turn down the temperature to cool herself off, then back up to a tolerable warmth.

_I should just run away._

Dash weakly shakes her head. _No. I'll make them pay for me to go to college for eight years then just cut them off._

_How can they even expect me to give them _anything_?_

Rainbow goes through a similar thought process daily, none of which end well for the parents. She flicks a switch underneath the shower head, causing it to spray soap along with the water. She keeps her eyes closed, starting to clean herself with a brush she picks up in her teeth.

Once she is finished, she steps out of the shower and rubs against a dry towel spread out across a wall. She takes a comb and starts to brush her fur until it's all straight, then glances down at the floor. Once she spots her universal hoof-tool, she stomps on it and it clamps onto her horseshoe. She takes a different brush in her teeth and clasps it to the tool, then looks at her reflection in the mirror, starting to brush her mane.

Rainbow rolls her eyes after a few seconds. _Unicorns have it easy._

Once she finishes her daily routine and unclasps the universal hoof tool she unlocks the door and trots out, grabbing her backpack from her work desk. She pulls it over her back and fits her wings through the straps, looking back at herself to do so, then spreads them out. She tightens the pack in this position, then folds her wings back in place. She looks up at the door and breathes deeply, taking a few seconds before opening it.

Her parents are very wealthy. Her mother is a successful sports coach at CHS (another very well-respected school) and a White Army veteran. Her father is a successful lawyer.

Rainbow sighs again the second she sees the stairs out her door, then spreads her wings. She flaps a few times to get herself into the air, then soars straight down both stories to the ground floor. She navigates the tight spaces of her house and flies right out the front door without her parents even knowing.

_I'm not dealing with that shit today._

With fifteen minutes to kill, filly Dash starts to fly straight up into the sky. She wants to feel the lack of air and the freezing chill - what one experiences when they get to a high enough altitude. Rainbow, even at her age, is one of the few ponies who can go as high as she does, considering her remarkable talent to control the flow of ley around her. Unfortunately, there is no way for Rainbow to record her altitude.

Rainbow's breathing gets faster and more ragged the higher she goes, both from fatigue and the lack of air.

Once very high up, she she folds her wings and closes her eyes, starting to fall backward, forcing herself to regulate her breathing. She reaches her terminal velocity of just overfifty meters per second, grinning a little bit at the sensation the rushing air causes. She lets the wind rush through her fur, her mane, and her tail . . to hell if she brushed them, she'll look good no matter what.

She inhales deeply one last time before suddenly rolling over in the air to face the ground. She suddenly spreads her wings. They vibrate and flap about as she forces them to stay open and still to slow her down, grunting with the effort. She opens her eyes when she's traveling slow enough for the wind to not bother her.

Dash angles herself towards the direction of school, flapping faster and faster. She focuses on manipulating the ley around her, like all pegasi do, to accelerate faster and faster. She grits her teeth, starting to approach Mach 1, the speed at which the Sonic Rainboom occurs. She groans, starting to slow down when not even close to the desired speed, knowing she'll be slingshot backward if she doesn't stop trying now. She hasn't been able to perform the Rainboom again since her first time. It's incredibly annoying since other ponies are already calling it a legend - something that can't be done, when she performed it a mere few years ago!

Rainbow descends into the courtyard right as the school bell starts to chime. She comes up behind a crowd of other students moving through the front door, raising an eyebrow.

Rainbow is late a lot, and she's never seen this many late students at once. She wonders what happened, but decides not to ask anyone. She doesn't feel like getting admired right now, so she hangs back out of sight. Dash decides to wait until they're all inside before going in, herself, so she just hovers there.

* * *

Fluttershy is dropped off a short distance behind the spot where Rainbow is stationed, waiting and watching. She woke up late this morning, as, amazingly, did Felicity. Felicity would not stop apologizing on the way to the school despite Fluttershy's assurances that it was okay.

Fluttershy widens her eyes at the sight of Rainbow ahead, terrified that she might see her getting dropped off. She looks up at Felicity. 'O-oh.. just.. just drop me off here,' she says. 'Please . . '

Felicity flicks her own right ear twice, glancing down at Fluttershy quizzically for a moment as she descends in accordance to her wish. She replies, 'Okay. We're still pretty far, though.. you'll be fine?'

Fluttershy is obviously eager to get on the edge of the massive cloud, already extending her legs in anticipation of landing. 'Yes, I will! I promise! Thank you, Felicity!'

Felicity smirks a little bit, gently dropping her off. 'I'll see you later, Fluttershy! Have a good day!'

Fluttershy smiles up at her for a moment, saying her own farewell. She looks ahead, starting to walk over toward Rainbow with a small smile.

Rainbow stops hovering and lands as she watches the crowd of students meld and disappear into the building. She folds her wings, starting to walk the distance toward the front door. She's already late, so . . no rush.

After a few steps forward Rainbow hears Fluttershy very, very faintly call for her to wait. It sounds like she's a hundred feet away. She turns her head back to look, instead seeing that Fluttershy is right behind her.

Rainbow smirks at her for a second, stopping to let her catch up. 'Hey there, Fluttershy,' she says happily. 'You're late? That's gotta' be like, the first time ever.'  
Fluttershy bites her lip, stopping next to her. "Y-.. Yeah.. Hi, Rainbow.."

She starts to sit down on her haunches but quickly stops herself and catches up when Rainbow, who was expecting Fluttershy to walk beside her, takes another few steps.

Rainbow glances upward as a small Bluebird flies overhead then back at Shy as she comes up alongside her. 'Today's a B-day right?' Dash asks. 'We have all the same classes but homeroom?'

Fluttershy nods quietly at her, smiling again.

Rainbow slows to a stop, and Fluttershy stops next to her, raising her head, turning it to look at Rainbow curiously.

'What's your overall average again, Fluttershy? Same as mine?' asks Dash.

'Um.. no.. A, um.. A-minus, I think . .'

'Oh. Well, there's still no harm in skipping homeroom then, is there?' asks Dash, grinning at Shy. 'Want to go hang out for a while?'

Fluttershy's wings flutter a little bit at her sides, both from excitement and nervousness. 'We-.. we'd be skipping.. class..?'

Rainbow smirks a little at her now, spreading her wings. 'Yeah.'

Fluttershy doesn't even hesitate to accept this opportunity, nodding quickly a few times.

Rainbow gets ready to take off, almost jumping into the air before looking at Fluttershy again, raising an eyebrow. Shy tries to appear as if she was ready to follow, looking at Rainbow with wide eyes and a bit lip.

' . . Ah. You still can't fly too well, can you . . ?'

'Nuh-.. no.. not.. not in front of others..'

Rainbow tilts her head towards Fluttershy, keeping one of her brows raised, smirking a little wider. "Not even in front of me?' she asks. ' . . . Nah, actually, don't answer that.' Rainbow flaps into the air, maneuvering around until she's hovering over Fluttershy. 'I guess I'll have to carry you, huh?'

Fluttershy's cheeks blush into a deep shade of red as per the usual, and she glances over her shoulder up at Rainbow, not able to make eye contact for very long. 'I.. I suppose so,' she says quietly.

Rainbow rolls her eyes and smirks widely, scooping up Fluttershy, holding her by the pits of her forelegs. Fluttershy speaks quietly, trying not to let her embarrassment color her voice. Doesn't work too well. 'So-.. so where are.. we going..?'

'Felicity is usually out exercising and shopping for you both right now, yeah?'

'Uhm . . usual- . . usually, yes . . '

Rainbow starts off to where she knows Fluttershy's house to be, still smirking at Fluttershy's behavior. 'Let's go to your house, then!'

Fluttershy lowers her ears a little, knowing that this would present the perfect opportunity to fulfill her promise. She replies, almost at a whisper '..Hokay..'

* * *

Rainbow soars down over Fluttershy's porch, gently depositing her in front of the door. Dash lands next to her friend, folding her wings back against her sides. Fluttershy keeps flapping her wings for a few seconds without meaning to, blushing - she quickly folds her wings back when she realizes it.

Rainbow gives her a slight smirk then looks up at the house. 'You know, I'm always amazed at how wealthy you guys are. Aren't your parents just soldiers?'

Fluttershy looks down as she walks up to the door, knowing her answer will incite a lot of questions. 'Uhm.. y-yeah,' she says. 'Sort of.. they're, um.. Seraphim.. and they used to be.. Wonderbolts..'

Rainbow blinks, trotting up to her side, looking at her as she walks 'Woah, what? Wonderbolts? ... And _Seraphim_..?' Dash asks, smiling. 'Fluttershy! How could you not, you know, tell me! That's so awesome!'

Fluttershy stops in front of her door, staring at the floor. She slowly takes off her backpack and sets it on the ground next to her, starting to sift through it with her nose to find her key.

Rainbow lessens her smile at Fluttershy's lack of response. When Fluttershy opens the door and replaces her backpack, Rainbow follows her inside. 'Sooo.. that means you could be given immortality, huh . . ?'

Seraphim are Celestia's elite of the elite. Only extremely experienced, trustworthy, and successful soldiers are invited to join that small, special branch of the White Army.

Celestia awards immunity to age to those who have served Equestria or the world, "Above and beyond the call of duty." When Celestia awards immortality to someone, she also offers to also make the lucky recipient's current and immediately-following generation immortal. Because many Seraphim meet those requirements, many Seraphim are offered immortality.

Fluttershy nods a little at her, quickly looking down again. She's listening to what Rainbow is saying, but not particularly reacting to it. She's worried almost to death. She's gonna' have to keep her promise.

Rainbow looks all around as she closes the door with one of her hind legs. '..Woah. You.. live well.' she says.

Fluttershy stops at the base of the stairwell that (obviously) leads to the upper floors of the house. She smiles a little at Rainbow, sitting on her haunches. 'Well . . yes . . '

Rainbow sits a short way across from her friend, smirking at Fluttershy. 'So.. going to give me a tour?' she asks teasingly. 'Let's start with your room.'

Fluttershy's mind immediately go to the tens of stuffed animals on her bed and the . . hundreds . . everywhere else in her room. She widens her eyes. 'Oh, uh-.. um..'

Rainbow smirks wider, leaning toward her a little. She starts to circle Fluttershy, brushing a wing against her side each time she passes around. 'Hiding something in there, are we?"

'W-well . . nuh-.. no . . '

'Weeeeell~... if you _hesitate_ to show me your room, I'd think you're hiding something!'

'We'll.. we'll go there last,' Shy promises. She bites her lower lip, looking up at Rainbow.

Rainbow laughs a little, standing up. 'Okay. What's first then?'

Fluttershy stands up a moment later, looking around, "Oh.. oh right.." she says, biting her lip. She casts a cursory glance at a nearby clock. 'Uhm.. a full tour would.. probably take longer than we have..'

Rainbow shrugs. 'We could miss the whole day..'

'But . . Felicity . . '

'Agh. That's right.. well, how long do you think it'll be before she gets here?'

Fluttershy flicks her left ear a few times. 'Well . . on . . on holidays, she's usually gone for . . for about two hours . . and it's been, um . . 'she glances at the same golden-gilded clock. 'About . . fifteen minutes,' she says.

Rainbow nods at her. "Well. Let's not waste any time! You said you'd show me your room last, right?' she asks with a grin. 'Just show me two things, then.'

Fluttershy can't help but smile a little as blood rushes to her cheeks again. She flicks her left ear several more times, looking away shyly. 'O-okay..'

Fluttershy thinks for just a moment before knowing _exactly_ what to show her friend. She starts to trot up the nearby stairway. Rainbow follows her closely, catching a glimpse of Fluttershy's behind as they go up the flights of stairs, smirking a little. On the fourth floor of the house, Rainbow is directed into a room that alone takes up most of the floor. Fluttershy stops in the middle of the room, then turns and smiles at Rainbow. 'This is my parent's trophy room,' she says quietly.

Rainbow stops next to her, looking all around with wide eyes. There is everything from spears, firearms, and letters containing declassified orders to Fluttershy's parent's Wonderbolt uniforms, trophies, and badges. Everything is organized like in a museum - either behind a velvet rope or in glass display cases. Others might think that odd, but not Rainbow Dash.

Our little blue filly smiles widely at Fluttershy, touched by her thoughtfulness, before trotting to the nearest display case. She puts her hooves up against the glass as she hops up to see it. Inside it are tickets to every Wonderbolt show that Fluttershy's father and mother, respectively Ace and Hotshot, have performed at. Some shows had special promotional tickets with pictures of Wonderbolts on them and those are included. The case is large because there are hundreds of tickets.

Rainbow trots on to the next case, smiling at Shy on the way. 'Fluttershy. How did I not know about any of this before?'

Fluttershy rubs one leg with the other, smiling shyly. 'It just.. never came up.'

Rainbow speaks as she reads a description of Ace's first combat mission. 'Yeah, well, you have awesome parents,' she says. Rainbow focuses on Fluttershy's reflection in the display case. 'Only natural they produced an awesome filly.'

Fluttershy looks down, widening her smile.

* * *

Rainbow trots and hovers around the room, reading the displays in silence for the next seven minutes. Fluttershy watches her, her blush gradually getting deeper and deeper.

When Rainbow finishes, she hovers above Fluttershy for a few seconds, landing a few seconds after she starts to speak, smirking at her. 'Sssssooooo, then . . what was it? That we were going to see next? Whiiiiich . . particular room of the house?'

Fluttershy bites her lower lip again, looking away.

"Yooour roooom, riiiiiiight~?" Rainbow teases.

Shy responds with a quiet 'Y-yes..'

Rainbow trots over to circle her friend on her hooves. 'Well, then. Lead the way, Fluttershy!'

Fluttershy slowly stands up, lightly fluttering her wings. 'O-hokay . . '

Rainbow follows her up the stairs, staring at her hindquarters. She smirks because Fluttershy is completely oblivious. After a few seconds, she looks up at the back of Shy's head.

_She's so adorable.._


	3. Chapter 3

Usual WARNING to the ideologically sensitive.

* * *

Fluttershy stops outside her door. It's just a short way down a hallway at the top of the stairwell. Shy's room takes up the _entire_ top floor. She sits down on her haunches, looking up at Rainbow with a bit lip.

Rainbow slows to a stop a few feet away, smirking at her. "We going in?" she asks.

"Ye-yeah.. but, um.. I just.. I just thought I should te-tell you that.. um.. there-.. there are a lot.. of, of.. stuffed.." her voice's volume halves, "..Stuffed animals.."

Rainbow smirks wider, "Okay. I'll try _reeally_ hard not to comment on them, then."

Fluttershy flops one ear, standing up. She nudges the door open with her nose, slowly walking in. Rainbow follows close behind, looking around when she gets the chance.

Fluttershy wasn't exaggerating.

Past the door is a simple sitting room with a small, short tea-table. Around it are seven chairs - each with a different animal - and one empty spot. Rainbow suppresses a quiet giggle, guessing that that is where Fluttershy sits.

To the left and right of the sitting area are wide, broad hallways that lead further into Fluttershy's room.

Fluttershy blushes as she sees the table, not even bothering with trying to hide anything. She doesn't stop moving, though, just deciding to get Rainbow's sightseeing over with before she talks to her.

Rainbow closes the door they came through then follows the yellow filly, looking around at everything with a little grin.

The layout of Fluttershy's room interests Rainbow - it's like an office. The hallway they're walking down has several doors that lead to playrooms, varying in size. Each one, of course, has stuffed animals in some kind of play scene.

Rainbow, for Fluttershy's sake, stays quiet, but can't help giggling quietly every few seconds.

Fluttershy smiles a little as she walks, getting slightly redder. She finds Rainbow's giggle to be absolutely adorable.

Shy leads Rainbow to a large double-sided door, nudging that open. Inside are three bed-sized pillows arranged in the shape of Fluttershy's soul glyph. In between them is a bed that fits the empty space perfectly. On that bed are tens of pillows and tens more of . . of course . . stuffed animals. All around the room, there are shelves and shelves of little trinkets and filly toys and other things Fluttershy has given emotional value.

There is a bookshelf across from the bed with thirty large jars on the racks. Each jar is filled to the rim with a different kind of candy. Felicity just refilled them yesterday. On the top of the case are several smaller toys that a young filly would play with. Fluttershy doesn't play with them any more, but she keeps them in plain sight since she loves them so much.

Rainbow looks around, smirking again. "Nice, Fluttershy.. I especially like the bed."

Fluttershy spreads her wings a little, climbing onto one of the massive butterfly pillows encompassing the frame of the bed. "It's.. a waterbed.."

Rainbow flicks an ear a few times, grabbing a treat out of one of the jars before flapping herself over onto the bed next to her. She rolls her eyes at herself. She accidentally chose a candy that was particularly sticky, so she's having trouble talking through it. Fluttershy giggles quietly when she figures out whats's wrong. "Yeh? I'b nebur.. been om one.. Cam I wry?"

Fluttershy puts a hoof to her mouth, suppressing another giggle. "Can... can you what?"

Rainbow finally manages to swallow. She rolls her eyes, again, more at herself, smirking "Can I try it?"

Fluttershy flicks her ear again, looking at Rainbow with a deepening blush. "Uhm.. what.. what do you mean..?"

"You know, can I lie down on it?" Rainbow smirks a little, "I don't want to sleep in it." _Yet_, she thinks to herself.

_. . I'm so bad~.._

Fluttershy flattens her ears, "O-.. oh.. of.. of course you can.. Ab-.. absolutely.. go ahead.."

Rainbow walks onto the water part of the bed, wings spread. She blinks, losing her balance for just a second, flapping her wings to regain her hoofing, "Woah.. that's.. different.."

Fluttershy watches her through the bangs of her mane, biting her lip yet again with a little smile.

Rainbow lets herself collapse on her knees on the bed, grinning after a few seconds. "...This is freakin' awesome.." she says.

She lets herself fall on her side on the waterbed, stretching out, closing her eyes with a satisfied smile. "Mmmmm... I waaaaant ooone~..."

Fluttershy looks away when Rainbow falls to the side, her cheeks turning the usual shade of red they often do when she spends time with Dash. She closes her eyes, sighing quietly. She thinks to herself. _Okay. This is it, Fluttershy. The perfect, perfect opportunity. She's in your house. On your bed. Happy. In a good mood_. She opens her eyes, but just for a second, squeezing them shut. _Come oooonn... stop talking.. to yourself.. and act! Tell heeer..._

She quietly takes a deeeep breath, using almost all of her willpower to look up. In a determined tone, "Uhm, Rainbow?"

Rainbow rolls onto her back, worming around a little more before ending back up on her belly. She smirks at Fluttershy, knowing fully well she was watching. "I'm jealous of your whole room, Fluttershy. It's the size of a small house..!" she smirks wider, "But yeah, what?"

Fluttershy smiles just a little bit, but it quickly fades when she remembers what she's doing, "Um.. can.. can I tell you something?"

Rainbow tilts her head a little, lessening her smirk a little. "Sure." she says. "There's not much I could do to stop you, anyway. What's bothering you?"

Fluttershy flops one ear, then slowly moves forward, looking down as she goes, silently encouraging herself. She walks across the waterbed easily, having done it thousands of times. She sits on her haunches, forcing herself to make eye contact with Rainbow.

She keeps looking down, unable to hold eye contact for more than a few seconds at a time. She's trying, though.

Rainbow tilts her head the other way, raising an eyebrow a little. She rises to her hooves, "What's wrong..?"


	4. Chapter 4

WARNING to the ideologically sensitive.

* * *

Fluttershy's chin quivers a little as she gets ready to speak, looking down at the bed, now. Poor Shy is again demonstrating why she is the epitome of bashfulness. "Not-.. Nothing's wrong, Ju-.. just.. I-.."

Rainbow watches her, widening her eyes a little in anticipation. When Fluttershy stops talking for several seconds, she starts to encourage her in the most soft, soothing tone she can muster, "Yooou..? You what~?"

Fluttershy bites her lip for the hundredth time today, swishing her tail nervously. "I-... I-.."

She turns away, ashamed of herself. "I-.. I can't..."

Rainbow lowers her ears a little bit, pretty disappointed. She was sort of expecting what Shy was going to say, but wasn't entirely sure. Now she won't know for another long while.

Dash glances at Fluttershy's window, then back at her, "Alright. If you say so.."

Fluttershy is hunched over, turned completely the other way now. Rainbow slowly starts to settle down on her haunches, then stops halfway. She instead moves forward, coming up beside Fluttershy. She still wobbles a little on the waterbed, but flaps her wings a little to help her balance. Fluttershy turns her head away again, but doesn't move otherwise.

"Fluttershy.. Uhm, I-"

Fluttershy squeezes her eyes shut as some part of her makes her just blurt it out.

"Ireallyreallylikeyoualotwaym orethanasafriend..!"

Right after Shy realizes what she's just said, she covers her face with her wings, giving a little, scared "Nnh~.."

Rainbow blinks when she blurts the words out, then slowly grins, poking her side playfully after a few seconds. "Do you, now?" she teases.

Fluttershy, heart beating fast and hard, slowly turns her head to peek at Rainbow through her wing's feathers with wide eyes. Rainbow is smirking at her, her own cheeks a little red. Rainbow settles down on her butt, waiting for her to continue, since she's so adorable when she acts shy.

Fluttershy works up the courage to ask, though it takes her several seconds to get the words out, "Do-... yo-you.. uhm... like-.. like me.. tha-.. that.. that way..?"

Rainbow gives a brief but distinctive nod in affirmative, still smirking at her.

Fluttershy seems to have just instantly gained a ton of energy. She sits straight, right up on her haunches, folding her wings back. She looks at Rainbow with wide eyes. "R-.. Really?!"

In answer, Rainbow suddenly jerks forward, passionately pressing her lips against Fluttershy's.

Fluttershy starts, totally taken off guard. She closes her eyes after a second, returning the pressure of the kiss. Rainbow leans into her, lifting up a hoof to gently place on Fluttershy's chest, just holding it there.

Fluttershy spreads her wings out wide, tucking her front hooves back up into her own chest. After a few moments, her already crimson blush gets deeper as she puts one of her own hooves on Rainbow's chest in turn.

Rainbow pulls back after a quarter of a minute, smirking widely at her new fillyfriend. Fluttershy stares back at her with surprised eyes, at a total loss for what to say.

Rainbow gently but firmly pushes Shy down onto the bed, climbing on top. She lies down flat against Fluttershy, smugly smiling down at her. Fluttershy, who's almost fainted at everything that's happened in the last minute, stares up at her for a few seconds. She opens her mouth a little when Rainbow lies down on top of her, stuttering. "Wh-.. wh-.."

Rainbow chuckles, shaking her head, "Don't worry. None of that."

Shy sighs, relieved, then turns her head away in a daze, smiling a little. She seems surprisingly at peace with Rainbow being so close (and, not to mention, on top of her). She says quietly, closing her eyes "That-.. that was.. my first.."

Rainbow rolls her eyes, still smirking. "Really, Fluttershy? I would have _neeever_~ guessed." she says.

Then Dash speaks quietly, looking away. "Mine too."


	5. Chapter 5

Rainbow looks back down at Fluttershy, obviously a little excited. "Okay, so, we like each other. We are going on a date." she shakes her head a little, "No, not a date. Many dates. Are we agreed?"

Fluttershy looks back up at her bashfully, still with her small smile. "Y-yes.." she says shyly.

Rainbow licks Fluttershy's nose. "Agreed. Want to go on our first one after school, then?" she asks.

Fluttershy only manages to give a small nod.

Rainbow smirks, "Okay."

She then she frowns a little, glancing off to the side, "Nn.. I'll have to get permission from my father. And he usually makes me ask twenty-four hours in advance before I do anything outside the house.." then back down at her, smiling sweetly, something she doesn't do too often. "Well. Permission or not, we'll find a way to get a date today."

Fluttershy nods again more slowly. "Don't-.. Don't.. get in trouble for me.." she says quietly.

Rainbow shakes her head. "If I get in trouble, I'll be getting in trouble for us."

Fluttershy glances off to the side again, smirking a teensy-teeeesny bit. Rainbow laughs a little, nodding in apparent agreement. "Yeah. That was pretty cheesy. Sorry."

Shy widens her eyes a little, quickly looking back up at Dash."Oh, no! I-.. I didn't mean that..! Just.. I thought.. it was really cute.."

Rainbow tilts her head to one side a little while she listens, smiling at her.

"You almost never say stuff like-.. like that.. S-so.. it's.. it's nice when you do.." offers Shy.

Rainbow suddenly drags her tongue from Fluttershy's neck up to her left cheek. She does it because Fluttershy will have an awesome reaction, which she does. Also because she can, now.

Fluttershy closes her eyes tightly, making a small "Eep" as she's licked.

Dash spreads her wings, standing up and backing off of her. She turns around with a little grin, looking at the door "Okay, so. We should probably go to C-M-S now. Especially before Felicity gets home."

Fluttershy rolls onto her belly before standing up, quietly following her. She has a lot of different thoughts about what just happened within the last five minutes, but most of all her mind is screaming _"Yeeeeees!"_

After carefully navigating through the house, Rainbow flies Fluttershy back to school. This day is a B day - one where Shy and Dash have all the same classes together. The day seems to shoot by.

In each class, they have always finished their work early. So throughout the school day, they show each other signs of affection. Meaningful glances, brushing up against each other in the halls as if it were an accident, different smiles. Nothing overt, but if someone was watching them all day, they could guess at what's going on.

Fluttershy is a little reluctant because she wants to be especially cautious since she is very, very aware of how furious Rainbow's parents would be and what might.. no, what _will_ happen if they find out. Shy's new counterpart is being cautious, too, though due to her rebellious nature, she is not too concerned.

After the last class lets out, they meet in the halls. Rainbow promises to meet Fluttershy later around dinnertime. Rainbow says she has an idea for a date, but it's going to be a surprise. Fluttershy excitedly, but not too excitedly, agrees.

"But, um.. be careful.. I don't.. want your dad to be mad at you.."

Rainbow winks at her as she turns, getting ready to fly home "A promise is a promise. I'll see you later."

* * *

Rainbow lands on her own family's porch, right in front of the door. She sighs quietly, then lifts the necklace around her neck with her right hoof. She finds the right key and takes it in her teeth, unlocking the door. She lets go of the key then pushes open the door with the same hoof, slowly walking inside.

She hears her mother in the kitchen and her father working on something in the workshop on the other side of the house. A power drill is running.

Rainbow's father, Canon, is a successful lawyer who has also written several bestselling fiction books. He works on things in the workshop when he gets writer's block. It helps him clear his mind. He gathers his thoughts again once he finishes. Most of the furniture in the house has been made by him - very professionally done. They sell off or even donate the other expensive furniture when they get replaced by his creations.

Rainbow's mother, Reign, is a veteran of the White Army who has participated in several firefights and two major battles in Asmara. She was trained as a tank gunner, but graduated with the credentials to be a tank commander. She performed admirably until she was honorably discharged (honorably only due to her previous service) from the army for ordering her gunner to destroy a building that had a rebel HVT. The building, unfortunately, was an apartment complex that also contained many innocent, trapped civilians.

Reign now works at Cloudsdale High School as the head sports coach. She manages five lower-ranking coaches who manage the school's sports teams - one per team. Soccer, Track and Field, Football, Basketball, and Blister (A sport much like quidditch.) All of these teams are skilled enough to compete at the national level each year.

Right now, Reign is cooking. That is another thing she just loves to do. Especially when Rainbow ends up with the tens of dishes. Reign is a fantastic cook - she can make just about anything in the world from memory, or from a simple description. If she had not found her love of authority first, culinary art probably would have had something to do with her soul glyph.

Rainbow smells something delicious from the kitchen, but knows that that smell holds no joy for her. Rainbow is always given the same thing to eat - alfalfa, hay, store-bought grass, and grain. Admittedly, this is one of the reasons why she is so fit and healthy, but she is just SO sick of it. The only time she gets to eat anything else is at school or when on some kind of activity with her friends.

Rainbow closes the door behind her gently, then flaps into the air. She soars up to her room, effortlessly making no sound. She opens the door when she gets there and geeently closes it. She stands up on her hind hooves for a moment after landing to shrug off her backpack, kicking it over to the bed once it lands on the floor.

Rainbow looks at her barred window, sighing. She's tried to escape her parent's wrath several times when she was younger. Canon ended up barring the windows in her room and building a stopper on Rainbow's door so that it could be locked from the outside. He even built a small compartment on Dash's door so that her parents could still feed her from the outside if she were ever "grounded". Imprisoned is a better word.

Poor Dash knows she can't tell anyone about her parents. They could explain away the barred window and door by saying that their child is disobedient to the point of violence.. and they'd be believed. They are great contributors to society. They donate a rather large amount of money to charity, Reign has held public office for several years, and Canon has defended many high-profile clients. They have many friends who could swear they'd never think that Canon or Reign would ever abuse a child.

Rainbow is _so_ sick of all of this. She's only still here because she wants to see the look on her parents' faces when she graduates from college and cuts them off, rather than support them, which they somehow _expect_ from her. Perhaps they think they have such a tight grip on Rainbow's morale.. well.. none of that matters right now.

She has a date with Fluttershy later.

* * *

After spending a few minutes making herself even more attractive than she normally is by simply fixing her hair and smoothing out her fur, Rainbow opens her door, heading down the stairs on her hooves so her parents know that she's coming.

Her parents are in the dining room, eating whatever Reign cooked up. Ministroni, it smells like. Canon glances back at Rainbow as she enters the kitchen, returning to his food less than a second later. "Home already, huh? Why can't that school keep you for longer?"

Rainbow ignores the strong urge to snap back at him. Instead, "If you want me gone, I can go spend time with some friends for a few hours."

Canon looks at her, "Spend time with whom?"

Rainbow maintains eye contact, "Just Fluttershy."

He turns back, shrugging, "Yeah, sure, whatever. Why don't you go now? Your mother and I are going to go out to see a show, anyway. It'd be nice not to see your face when we get back."

Rainbow turns away, trotting toward the front door "Okay. Fine with me."

She makes sure to take her keys and a $20 equo bill from her mother's $20,000 purse. The currency in Equestria is mostly paper money - change and gold coins that represent the same amounts are old, but still hold their represented values. Coins are mostly in circulation around rural towns and rural areas.

Rainbow closes the door behind her, grinning a little. _Well, that was surprisingly easy.I've got pleeenty of time._

She takes flight, heading down towards the marketplace, getting ready to prepare for the date she has been planning all day.

* * *

Fluttershy, of course, had no trouble at all getting permission to go out today. She had no idea how long the date would last, but promised to be home by 21:30. Rainbow said she'd be here around dinnertime, so Fluttershy is practically tearing herself up over whether she should eat or not. Rainbow might want to eat with her, but then again, Rainbow might come _after_ dinner, expecting her to have eaten.. and if she goes on an empty stomach, she.. well, she doesn't entirely trust herself to remain conscious the whole time. Shy decides to eat half an apple.

She spends the rest of the time in the larger of her two personal bathrooms, constantly brushing either her bangs, mane, fur, tail, or tweaking her eyelashes. She does not usually pay this much attention to her appearance since she has never had to worry about it before. She's not overly concerned about it now, either, but it can't hurt to look even prettier for Rainbow.

Felicity has already guessed what's happening simply from the way Fluttershy is acting. Whenever they converse with each other, Felicity can't help but make a subtle smirk.

* * *

Rainbow has just finished setting up their date on Earth's surface. She spent almost an entire hour simply scouting for a good position, but it definitely paid off. _Gods, I wish I could cast spells._

Dash is on her way back up to the massive city, navigating towards Fluttershy's house. Everything is set and ready. She's carrying a few select extra things with her, since Fluttershy seems to like a _little_ bit of "cheesiness." She thinks it's cute, at least.

Dash slows down a little to worm around and check her saddle-pack. She keeps checking it every few minutes, paranoid that something will fall out. There are lots of slips of paper in it, but it's all fairly secure with the latch on the bag's flap. She just can't help it.

She arrives on Fluttershy's porch a few minutes later, giving herself a quick look over in one of the many windows on the front of the house. The drapes inside are all drawn, so she doesn't worry about getting spotted early. She goes back to the door, then knocks on it a few times.

Rainbow shifts from side to side uncomfortably, wondering why she's so nervous. I mean, it's just a first date with her crush. That's all. No big deal.

She rolls her eyes. _Yeah, no biggie._

She quickly looks up and stands straight when the door opens. Felicity smiles at her, though it turns to a smirk after a moment. "Here for Fluttershy?"

"Oh! Hi, Ms. Felicity! Uhm.. Yeah, I am."

Felicity turns back around, glancing back at Rainbow as she walks back into the house. "Uuuuh-huh.. thought so~.. she'll be right down!"

Rainbow nods a little, sitting on her haunches. She takes the opportunity to quickly preen her left wing. When she hears someone approaching, she quickly sits up straight. She smiles when Fluttershy comes from around the door. "Hey, there."

Fluttershy smiles shyly, looking down for a moment. She looks back up once Felicity closes the door, "Hi, Rainbow.."

Shy tilts her head a little, her smile growing. She says quietly, "A backpack annnd a saddle pack?" she rubs one leg with another, still embarrassed to mention the fact that they're now courting. "Looks.. looks like you've got.. quite a d-date planned, huh..?"

Rainbow rises into the air, winking at her with a smile. "You bet."  
She lifts up her saddlebag with one hoof, opening the flap with another. She reaches in after a brief search then pulls out a black bandana with her teeth. She closes the bag again, re-clasping the latch.  
"Firsht, put on thsih."

Fluttershy blinks at her a few times, "Umm.. sor-.. sorry, what?"

Rainbow smirks, flying around behind her. She wraps the bandana over Fluttershy's eyes, then starts to tie a knot at the back of her head. She makes sure to make it tight, but not too tight.

Fluttershy's cheeks start to get a little red while Dash does that. "O-oh.. right.. okay.."

Rainbow proceeds to lift Fluttershy up, wrapping her front legs all the way around Fluttershy's torso.

Rainbow lifts the blushing Fluttershy up into the air, starting off towards their first destination.

Fluttershy manages to ask, though she knows she won't get the answer "Uhm.. where are we going..?"

"You'll see!"

"Okay.."

After a few seconds, Fluttershy notices that they've descended quite a lot already. She says quietly, biting her lip "Are we going down to the surface..?"

The City of Cloudsdale is not _all_ situated on clouds. A good third of the entire population of Cloudsdale is on the ground _beneath_ the clouds. The ground below Cloudsdale MS has not been developed yet.

"Are.. are we.. going to the surface..?"

"Yeah-huh."

Fluttershy smiles a little, swishing her tail excitedly. "Okay..!"

She remains quiet and excited. Rainbow stays quiet too, excited, herself, to see what Fluttershy will think of their first destination.

After about two minutes, Rainbow says quietly "Almost theeere.."

Fluttershy swishes her tail once again, biting her lip a little.

After another few seconds, Fluttershy can hear what sounds like a crowd of rather excited people. She hears a lot of excited children. What is it..? A theme park..? Some kind of show..?

Rainbow gently eases Fluttershy onto the ground, then lands next to her, smiling. "Okay, Fluttershy. Ready?"

Shy only gives a small nod.

Rainbow uses her teeth to ease the blindfold off of Fluttershy, biting it from the side. Shy blushes a little at her closeness, but quickly looks around excitedly once it's off. The first thing she sees is an arch with a huge, wide path leading under it. To either side of the arch is a long, tall brick fence. There are lots of families on their way in and out of the entrance.

On the arch are the words CLOUDSDALE ZOO.


	6. Chapter 6

Fluttershy widens her eyes and flutters her wings, all embarrassment forgotten "Oh~..! Oh! I've never been here!"

She smiles widely at Rainbow, "Thank.. thank you..!"

Rainbow smirks a little, "Don't thank me, yet. The date's just barely started."

Fluttershy looks up at the arch, then starts to excitedly trot forward. Rainbow smirks wider, keeping up at her side. The line at the ticket booth is already short and moving fast, so it does not take long for them to get to the front of the line. Fluttershy bounces excitedly the whole time, much to Rainbow's amusement.

The teenager at the ticket booth is obviously extremely bored, but at least makes an effort to appear happy with his job, giving them a big, fake smile. "Hi! It's ten equos a ticket."

Rainbow reaches into her saddle bag, worming around with her nose until she finds what she needs. She removes from the bag two tickets in her teeth, sliding them through the small slit under the glass on the booth. The attendant examines them, then nods at them with another forced smile. "Okay, thank you for your patronage! Go on in! There's a show with the sea lions at seven."

Rainbow takes a paper guide pushed at her under the window, putting in her saddlebag as she trots to catch up to Fluttershy, who is already pushing through the inward-traffic turnstile.

Fluttershy looks at Rainbow with a wide smile, very excited. Once Dash passes through the turnstile, Fluttershy almost tackles her, hugging her so tight. "Thank you thank you thank you..! We're going to have so much fun..!" she pulls back after a few seconds, blushing just a little, but no excitement lost.

Rainbow smiles just as much, watching her. She's only seen her like this a few times, and they were somewhat similar circumstances. Involving animals and what-not. "I knew you'd love it."

"l do! I really do! Uhm..I think I heard he gave you a guide! Can I see it? Lemme see it!"

Rainbow smiles a little wider, pulling the guide out with her teeth. She leans back a little, almost standing up on her hind legs so that Fluttershy has to reach for it. Shy goes for it, of course, blushing a little more.

Rainbow doesn't yank it out of the way, so Fluttershy grabs it and pulls it away. To hide her embarrassment, she quickly spreads the map guide on the ground, pretending to intensely examine it.

After a few seconds, she's intensely examining it for real, getting even more excited, again, at all the options available. Cloudsdale Zoo is the second-biggest zoo in the world. You only have to look around to see plenty of tourists from quite a few other countries. Some even from overseas.

Rainbow smirks a little, watching Fluttershy as Shy's eyes flit around the map. After a few more seconds, she exclaims "Let's start with the monkeys..! They're.. they're the closest biggest habitat..! The one that.. is big but close! Oh, let's go!"

Rainbow scoops up the map in her hooves, folds it so that the "clean" side is on the outside, then bites it and puts it back in her back. She looks up to see Fluttershy bouncing in place. Rainbow smirks, "Dooo.. you remember where it is?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, lead the way, then!"

Rainbow ends up trotting after Fluttershy, who passes several smaller exhibits at a brisk pace. Shy makes a note to be sure to check those out later. Right now, she's on a mission. A mission to see some monkeys.

* * *

This monkey habitat is a set of large islands. Around the habitat is sturdy iron railing protecting the more clumsy of ponies from falling into the artificial rivers running through and around the islands. This habitat, like all of the habitats, has a large, expensive, invisible magical dome shield that prevents pegasi or other winged creatures from causing any mischief. There's a similar shield that covers the entire sky over the whole zoo, though it can be seen with the naked eye as a faint, light purple mist.

Once Fluttershy gets there, she spends some time examining them with a huge smile. She trots along the fence, almost knocking one forgiving person down, keeping her eyes on one particular juvenile monkey.

Rainbow follows her, of course, keeping pace. Instead of the monkeys, she watches Fluttershy with a big grin. She stops behind her when Fluttershy halts to lean against the fence, then follows her gaze.

A monkey approaches the edge of the habitat, following its young child. The juvenile seems to be absolutely fascinated with Fluttershy. It walks up to the very edge of the habitat, looking up at her. Its mother lingers close by protectively, watching curiously.

Fluttershy puts her hoof against the invisible shield around the habitat. The juvenile, which has attracted a lot of attention for being so close to the barriers, puts its hand over the barrier, right where Shy's hoof is touching it. She doesn't seem particularly surprised, since this /is/ part of her gods-given talent.

Over the next five minutes, Fluttershy attracts a crowd with her ability to attract the Capuchin monkeys over to the fence. She talks to them, and they listen intently.

After unabashedly entertaining the crowd, Shy finally breaks free with Rainbow.

Fluttershy does this at almost every exhibit - she even shows no fear against the carnivores, much to Rainbow's surprise. Even caged and contained, Rainbow imagined that Fluttershy wouldn't want much to do with the non-sentient carnivores that were omitted from Celestia's magical banishment of meat-eaters. Fluttershy loves these animals just as much as the others, though, and talks to them, too.

Over the course of the next few hours, Fluttershy leads Rainbow around the zoo, asking for the map whenever she needs it. Fluttershy tells Rainbow practically everything she knows about each animal as they watch them, which is far more than the information presented on each habitat's info pedestal. Fluttershy reads extensively in her free time, so Rainbow's in for quite a few lectures..

Dash listens as best she can, though. Animals aren't exactly.. her thing, but she does pay attention to everything Fluttershy has to say. She is so adorable when she gets excited.

Not surprising to Rainbow (but to Fluttershy's elation), the manager of the zoo, who had been watching her since she stopped three alligators from fighting, approaches her with an offer to interview for a part-time job there. Fluttershy could not stop thanking Rainbow even if she wanted to.

When they leave the zoo, Rainbow Dash carries Shy to a nearby supermarket.

* * *

Rainbow gently sets Fluttershy down in front of the revolving doors. Fluttershy smiles and gives her friend another extremely tight hug, causing dash to Dash roll her eyes, smirking. She lightly pats Shy's back after a few seconds. then gently pushes her away.

Dash speaks quickly before Shy can thank her again. She says, "You're welcome. It was my pleasure, really! . . I had a lot of fun, too."

"Still! That.. that was just so thoughtful, Rainbow..! Thank you so much..! Thank you!"

Rainbow smirks a little wider. "You're _welcome_, Fluttershy! The date isn't over, though." she says.

Fluttershy pulls back, looking at the busy door to the market. She blushes a little, then smiles at Rainbow again, "Ri-right.."

Rainbow trots up to the door, politely holding it open for Shy. Albeit, she does it in a somewhat exaggerated fashion, smirking a little as she bows a little too much.

Fluttershy walks through with a blush, giving her a shy smile. Dash catches up to her, looking around. She grabs a saddle-basket, hovering in the air for a moment while she works the belt around her waist. "Okay, we need to find the groceries. Shouldn't be too hard."

"Are.. are we going to make food..?" asks Fluttershy in an absolutely adorable quiet voice.

Rainbow lands in front of Shy and beams at her despite the fact that the first part of the answer to Shy's question is somewhat obvious, "Yeah, we are. Gonna' go on a picnic."

Fluttershy perks up at that, spreading her wings a little. Shy herself rises into the air to look around for a grocery area, excited. Rainbow watches her from where she is on the floor, smirking a little. She takes a moment to glare at someone who lightly pushes Dash, but afterward she quickly looks back up at Shy, unable to keep herself from being a little excited about how well Shy is hovering in the air.

After a few seconds, "See anything, Ms. Shy?"

Fluttershy quickly lands in front of Rainbow, blushing a little for no apparent reason. "Oh! Uhm.. yeah.."

Rainbow raises an eyebrow and grins, taking a few steps toward her. "It shouldn't have taken that long to see. Weeere yooou.. showing off~?"

Shy turns her head away, getting rosier at the cheeks.

Rainbow leans forward a little and widens her eyes. "You weeere! I'd know. I do show off all the time." she smiles, continuing "That's something I'd never expect you to do! Just for me, huh?"

"We-.. well..! You.. you _have_ been.. teaching me.. s-so.. I just.. wanted to.. show you..!"

Rainbow sits on her haunches, grinning at her new fillyfriend. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't proud."

Rainbow quickly sits up, seeing Shy's proud smile despite her attempt to hide it. "Well, come on! We haven't got all day!" she says, trotting past Shy.

Fluttershy quickly gets up to follow her, almost slipping on the recently-cleaned tile. Rainbow doesn't notice, and Fluttershy doesn't care too much. Dash walks slowly until Fluttershy comes up beside her, at which point they both assume a normal pace. The store is pretty busy, but Rainbow prefers it because the franchise stores have poor service and, generally, cheap products and food. And cheap usually means "barely exceeds minimum sanitation standards".

"So, um.. what.. what are we buying?"

"We'll get some bread and veggies for sandwiches, unless you want to get something else."

"I'm.. I'm okay with that..!"

"You sure you aren't just saying that just because you want to keep me happy?" teasingly asks Rainbow, looking at Shy with a smirk.

"N-no! I.. I'm really okay with it!"

"Alright~!" says Rainbow, looking back forward. After another moment, "There's the huge grocery area."

Dash smirks a little, "That would take like, a second to see from the air."

Fluttershy blushes, smiling a little. Looks down at the floor as she trots along.

Rainbow leads the way into the grocery area, walking down the first aisle they get to. There are many aisles and each one is long, so they won't be lacking for anything by the time they leave. Rainbow slows down a little once they start down one of the rows, looking all around. After a moment, she smiles at Fluttershy, "See anything you like?"

Fluttershy slows down with her. She looks at Rainbow and seems to take a moment to process her question. She blushes, again, after a second, and quickly starts looking around "Oh!.. uhm.. I like.. daisies and sunflowers a lot.."

Rainbow looks through the foodstuffs arranged in magically-refrigerated shelves and on plain racks for those items, "Alright! Me too."

Dash trots down to the other end of the aisle toward the bread, letting Fluttershy look for anything else. "Just grab those and whatever else you want, I've got enough. Do you like honey oats?"

Fluttershy enthusiastically gives her an affirmative. Rainbow picks out a honey-oat loaf of sliced bread, throwing it in her basket. She picks out a few tomatoes from a barrel randomly placed along the side of the aisle, then returns to Fluttershy. They both pick out a few more vegetables before walking through the next few rows of shelves. They find out they have the same favorite fruit, mango, when they both rush for a bucket full of them upon spotting it.

The young couple fills the wicker basket on Rainbow's back with enough food for four ponies!

They check out through one of the many available registers. After Fluttershy takes the change for Rainbow, she excitedly trots toward the door, taking the lead. Rainbow smirks, watching her, "Excited?"

Fluttershy replies in a surprisingly unabashed manner before trotting out the door, nodding back at her with a smile "Yes..!"

Rainbow glances at the basket on her back (now with a closed lid), wondering how she's going to carry both Shy and all this food. The stuff already almost weighs as much as her. _Weeell.. she did say that she's been practicing. We'll try to fly there separately annnd.. if she gets into trouble.. I can just ditch the food._

Rainbow double-checks the basket belt's tightness around her waist and makes sure its lid is secure before lightly trotting out one of the exit doors to catch up to Fluttershy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Note from the author: **_I say "a little" a lot, don't I?_

_My bad._

* * *

Rainbow stops outside next to Fluttershy, who is flapping her wings in preparation for take-off. "Gonna' try to fly yourself?" asks Rainbow, smirking at Shy a little.

"Oh, um.. yes! I want to try..!"

"Heh, okay! You ready?"

"Uhm.. I think so.."

Rainbow smiles at Shy, lighly pushing her from the side with a hoof to her shoulder. "Hey! You'll do fine!"

Fluttershy looks down with a smile, getting rosy.

Rainbow spreads her wings and flaps them a few times, crouching down with another glance at Shy. "You ready?" she asks once again.

This time, Fluttershy gives a more confident answer. Firm, but still in a quiet voice "Ye-Yes!"

"You go first," says Rainbow, grinning as she looks outward towards the sky.

"O-Oh.. okay."

Fluttershy hunches down for a few seconds then wiggles her cute flank a few times before hopping into the air, accelerating at an anti-climactic rate.

Dash chuckles quietly to herself, simply hopping into the air. She catches up with her counterpart, flying beside her.

Fluttershy is doing better than okay. She's using a special training technique that Rainbow practically invented just for her. Rainbow intended the wing formation that Shy is using to improve Shy's strength and, thus, her overall control. It was more of a cultivate training pattern than anything else, originally intended for her to have something to practice before Dash taught her other wing patters, but Fluttershy has practically mastered it.

"Doing pretty good there, Hot Stuff!"

Fluttershy's cheeks turn raspberry red at the nickname. She focuses on flying to try and alleviate some of the embarrassment, but it doesn't work too well. It doesn't negatively affect her performance, though.

Rainbow slooowly pulls ahead of Fluttershy since Shy has no idea where she's going, resisting the urge to smirk a little. "Follow me, Cuteness."

She angles down towards the earth with the crimson-colored Fluttershy right behind her. They have to do a one-eighty to get where Dash wants them to go, but Rainbow does a good job of executing it in such a slow manner that Shy doesn't seem to notice.

Within two minutes, they're out of Cloudsdale's.. "city limits". Shy starts to pant from fatigue, but she doesn't slow up yet.

"We're almost there, Angel Heart," assures Rainbow, aware of her faint vexation.

Fluttershy blushes _again_, smiling a lot wider this time. "I like.. I like that one.."

"Okay," laughs Rainbow. "I'll keep coming up with some, but I'll keep that one in mind!"

Fluttershy happily follows Rainbow down to the ground, unable to prevent herself from glancing at her fillyfriend every few seconds. She bites her lip, smiling again, simply from the happiness she feels.

_I'm so lucky!_ she thinks. _I'm on my first date with the filly I like so much.. and she's.. she's just.. awesome.._ She looks down, now, though not at anything in particular. _She's smart.. funny.. so.. so, so incredibly nice and.. really.. really pretty..._

Rainbow, oblivious to Fluttershy's thinking, looks back up at her. "See that meadow next to the big tree? There's a spot in the middle I cleared."

Dash, no longer accelerating, simply glides down. Once she nears the ground, she goes in circles around the small clear spot, landing a moment later. She undoes the belt, then looks around for Shy once the basket is upright on the ground. She looks up after a moment, seeing Shy hovering in the air a short distance over her head.

Rainbow smirks a little, quickly flying back up to her in just a matter of seconds. "Hey! What's wrong?"

Fluttershy bites her lower lip, looking away, ashamed of herself. "Uhm.. I can't.. I can't land.."

"Pshhhh~," says Rainbow, waving a hoof. "No biggie! How about you try to land, and I'll stay next to you to make sure you're safe?"

Fluttershy seems more confident. She gives a curt nod, focusing on the small clearing "Okay.."

Rainbow moves down a little below Shy, keeping an eye on her. She can spot a "malfunction" a mile away, so poor Fluttershy will be fine.

Fluttershy inhales deeply several times, then starts to descend into the little clearing with the basket. The tree is indeed large, but it's tall enough that the branches won't get in the way at the angle Fluttershy is coming down.

Rainbow safeguards Fluttershy from the danger of falling or landing too hard, watching Shy's movements closely from below her. Once Shy gets near the ground, Rainbow lands and stays under her, ready to accelerate and catch her if necessary. "Okay! Flap hard without getting too much lift! Just enough to descend-.. and hey, control where you land!"

Fluttershy listens hard to Rainbow's voice, simultaneously focusing on the spot she's designated as her landing zone. Rainbow remains directly below Fluttershy, watching her. She stops telling her what to do, hoping instinct will do the rest.

Fluttershy, luckily, manages to land without hurting herself.

Rainbow gives Fluttershy a grin, causing Shy to blush for the umpteenth time since Dash picked her up several hours ago. "Hey! That was a good level-off!"

Rainbow walks up and rubs her side against Fluttershy's, walking around her in a clockwise circle without breaking contact. Fluttershy, surprised, stares straight head with wide eyes. When Dash passes in front, she nuzzles under Fluttershy's chin for a moment before continuing on, smirking.

Dash, with a little blush herself, stops on the second go-about. She pokes at Shy's right wing, "Lift this real quick."

Rainbow takes a minute to demonstrate the wing position Fluttershy needs to use when landing. Fluttershy slooowly turns her head to watch, listening the whole time.

Once Rainbow ends the intentionally-short lesson, she reaches behind her, opening her saddlebag. Fluttershy watches curiously, rubbing one of her front legs with the other.

Rainbow digs around in her bag with her nose. She finds her folded up tarp, suddenly swinging her head to let it unfold and spread across the ground. Rainbow smiles, offering Fluttershy a seat with a hoof.

Fluttershy shyly smiles back at her, flicking one of her ears as she gets comfortable on the cloth. Rainbow trots the several feet to the basket she dropped off earlier, grabbing it by the side at the top with her teeth, starting to drag it over. Several birds call to each other both nearby and far away as Shy quietly watches.

Dash stops once she feels the cloth under her left hind leg. She smiles at Shy again before turning back, nuzzling off the lid of the short basket. Dash then drags it a few more inches onto the blanket covering the ground.

She again reaches into her saddlebag; though, this time, she reaches into the other side. From within, Dash removes two ceramic plates wrapped in paper. She removes the wrapping, intended to prevent clinking noise when shifting in her bag, then puts the plates down in front of her. She nudges one over to Fluttershy with her nose, watching her with her eyes as she does so, smirking. Fluttershy blushes faintly, smiling back at her.

Dash quickly picks up the paper, putting it back in her bag because ponies reuse and recycle, and _have_ reused and recycled since the invention of paper and rejection of the "landfill" idea. What a disaster that could have been.

Rainbow flicks an ear a few times, glancing at the basket full of food. She stands up, grabbing it at the edge with her teeth. She drags it across the blanket. That causes it to bunch up from the side, but neither of them care.

Fluttershy quietly watches Rainbow tips the side of the basket over once it's in position. They're both being a bit quiet because they're both being shy. Even Rainbow is acting just a tad shy. She was fine at the zoo, when they were surrounded by other people, but.. here, where they are both alone, is preeeetty different.

The basket ends up on its side with the uncovered top near both plates. Some fruit spills over as Rainbow pulls back, taking her seat again. She smiles at Shy, just baaaarely red at her cheeks. "Uhm.. there's a lot of food. You pick, first."

Fluttershy smiles back, flicking an ear. She wordlessly picks two peaches with her teeth, gently dropping them on her plate. She looks at Rainbow for a second then blushes again, standing up to start digging through the basket. Rainbow watches her, smirking when Shy's head disappears into the magically-woven container.

Shy pulls out the paper bag with the honey-oat bread in it, setting it down on the pile of fruit between both of their plates before resuming her search.

Rainbow lets herself slide down into a seated position, resting on her belly. After watching Shy for another few seconds, she relaxes, smirking a little. She rests her head on a hoof while patiently waiting.

Shy makes sure not to take too long.

Rainbow doesn't, either. They both eat quickly and, when compared to how much food they brought, barely ate anything. For the duration of the meal, they didn't talk much, but it picks up once they start packing.

Fluttershy is cleaning up the crumbs and trash while Rainbow very carefully packs her mother's plates back up. Fluttershy says quietly, "Wow.. we barely ate anything.. I felt so hungry when we were buying the food.."

Rainbow smirks a little, glancing up at her for a second once she packs the plates away in her saddlebag, "Yeah. I did, too. Isn't it like.. your stomach shrinks when you don't eat for a while?"

Fluttershy smiles at her a little, "I think that takes at least a day to happen.."

Rainbow shrugs, smirking again. "Oh well."

Once they finish cleaning and packing up, Fluttershy glances up at Cloudsdale. "How much longer do we have..?" she asks quietly.

Rainbow looks in the general direction of her house, then up at Celestia's sun, squinting. "I have to be home in an hour, so.."

She looks at Shy again. "Let's leave in forty minutes."

Fluttershy lowers her ears. They've spent several hours together, now, but it still seems like it was such a short time. "Oh.. Okay.."

Rainbow walks over to Shy, giving her cheek a lick. She walks around her until she's facing the same direction, then smiles at her very red fillyfriend, "Want to just lie in the grass or something until it's time to go?"

"Uhm..! O-okay..!"

* * *

Rainbow Dash plops down on her back in the grass next to Fluttershy after finishing attending to the basket. They are both on their backs right next to each other. The basket is loaded and ready to go, standing against the tree that is providing their shade. They're both sitting at such an angle that the tree shades them yet they can still appreciate the beauty of the sky.

Fluttershy turns her head, smiling at Rainbow with a little blush. She waits until Rainbow smiles back to thank her.

"This.. this has really been.. really fun.. thank.. thank you.."

Rainbow winks at her, giving a little smirk. "My pleasure, Angel-heart. I had a lot of fun, too."

Fluttershy looks back up at the sky, smiling wider "I.. like that nickname.. a lot.."

Dash follows her gaze to look at the sky again. "Yeah, and, again, I like it, too. Using it, I mean. I like calling you Angel-Heart.."

Fluttershy shifts around to get a little more comfortable. Rainbow takes the opportunity to do the same thing, though she scoots closer until their sides are touching. Shy blushes a little, but definitely offers no complaint.

Rainbow looks back at the basket once they both settle. She smirks a little a moment later, looking to her side at Shy before getting up "Oh, wait a second.. this'll be worth it."

Fluttershy experiences faint disappointment at the loss of contact, but nonetheless watches her curiously, bearing a small smile.

Rainbow takes flight and soars through the air, suspending herself in the air over the basket. She knocks off the lid then starts to dig through the many untouched leftovers for something. Fluttershy rolls over onto her belly to watch, cocking her head a little.

Rainbow forages through the bassinet for another several seconds. Out she comes with a bunch of cherries in her teeth, all hanging from the stems. She lands, walking back over to Fluttershy with a little grin. They make eye contact for a brief moment, but both Shy and Rainbow end up shyly looking in opposite directions.

Rainbow brings her eyes back over just a second later, smirking at her again. She sets the cherries down then sits on her haunches. Fluttershy manages to look at her again a few seconds later, rising up to reflect her pose. "..Uhm.. what're.. what're these for?" she asks quietly.

"You're not.. acting like you're going.. to eat them.." she says, even quieter. It seems like she has an idea of what Rainbow's doing.

Rainbow nods seriously. "You're exactly right, Fluttershy. I have another idea."

Fluttershy widens her eyes while Rainbow stoops down. Dash picks up one of the cherries, chewing off the stem. She spits out the actual cherry to the side, looking at her fillyfriend with a little grin "Test of a great kisser, right?"

Fluttershy watches with a deepening blush, lowering her head a little as Rainbow glances about while chewing. A few moments later, Shy's Dash puts a hoof to her own cheek for just a second, tilting her head to the side.

Another second later, Dash holds out her hoof in front of her, dropping the tied-up stem on the seat-of-corn of her hoof. She lets it fall to the floor.

A little red herself, she winks at the deeply embarrassed Fluttershy.

"I can actually do two at once." she says.

She nudges some of the cherries over to Shy's hooves with her nose, keeping her eyes up to look at her. Dash sits back up, smiling a little shyly at Fluttershy. "So, uh, I'm not forcing you to or anything, but.. want to try?"

Fluttershy is somewhat reluctant because she's pretty sure she'll embarrass herself in front of her new partner somehow. She goes for one of the cherries anyway, feeling very determined to prove herself somehow. She takes hold of the nearest cherry fruit by the stem with her teeth, plucking the stem while softly holding down the actual cherry with a hoof.

Fluttershy lifts her head up then, while bright red, tries to go straight into it. She honestly has no idea what she's doing and she knows it, but her sense of determination returns with renewed vigor when she sees Dash watching her with shy smile. Fluttershy squeezes her eyes shut right after that, trying very hard to get the stem into a knot.

After several seconds, Shy sighs, on the verge of giving up. She turns her head away just a tad while keeping her eyes closed, speaking with the stem to the side of her tongue "I don't.. I don't think I can.."

Dash's wings start to rise. Luckily, Fluttershy doesn't see.

"You just need some practice.." says Dash, right before she leans in to kiss her.

Fluttershy, being the lovely, innocent young filly she is, was not expecting that at all, even after the (somewhat cheesy, but adorable) line. She widens her eyes but quickly closes them a moment later, nervously kissing Dash back.


	8. Chapter 8

Rainbow pushes Fluttershy onto her back, careful to maintain the kiss without breaking contact. Shy's wings spread across the grass as she lands with a small "oof", muffled by her contact at the lips.

Rainbow closes her eyes, unable to help herself from blushing a little. Dash's red cheeks don't even start to compare with how red Fluttershy's face is, though. Like last time, Rainbow puts one of her hooves on Shy's chest.

After about an entire minute of shifting her position on top of Shy, Rainbow peeks an eye open. She closes the eye again a moment later before starting to pull back. Once the kiss is broken, she smirks a little down at Fluttershy.

"Next time, we Prench kiss. Okay?" she murmurs, sotto voce.

Fluttershy manages to peek one eye open. She slowly nods, wildly abashed and, of course, bright crimson.

Rainbow licks Fluttershy's nose, yielding a faint "eep" from her as she stands up.

"We'd better get going," says Rainbow ruefully, glancing up at Cloudsdale. "My parents will be expecting me back soon. Maybe. I'unno."

Fluttershy pricks up her ears, opening her other eye at the mention of Rainbow's parents. Her concern for Dash temporarily subdues her coyness. She looks up at Rainbow just in time to see Rainbow glance off to the side as she backs off of Fluttershy to let her up. Keeping her eyes on Dash, Fluttershy calmly works up into a sitting position. "Better safe than sorry.. especially with them.."

"Yeah, okay." says Rainbow, sighing. She turns her eyes back on Shy with a smile, "I had fun. Let's do this again soon."

Fluttershy flutters her wings for a second, smiling back at her, "O-oh.. absolutely~.."

Rainbow spreads her wings, looking up at Cloudsdale for a moment. She smirks while turning her gaze back on Shy, asking "Do you think you can climb that altitude yourself?"

Shy bites her lower lip, looking up at their home city for a few seconds. She stands up on all four hooves, slowly circulating through her wing motions. "Uhm.. I can try.." she says uncertainly.

"You don't have to fly yourself. I can carry you if you don't feel up to it, you know."

"Uhm.. are.. are you sure that'd be okay?"

Rainbow winks at her, smirking again. "You know it. You'll have to flap your wings too, though - it's pretty far."

Fluttershy smiles and blushes a tad, nodding. "O-okay!"

Rainbow glances at the basket, tapping her chin. "Mmn.. I'll come get that tomorrow. It gets _really_ cold down here at night."

Dash flaps up into the air, moving over to Fluttershy. She gets a good, tight grip on Fluttershy then slowly lifts her into the air. Because Rainbow is holding Shy from her upper body, Shy's lower half dangles, allowing her to flap her own wings to help out.

Fluttershy gets a little redder, glancing upward at Rainbow. She looks down at the ground a second later, beating her tail a few times. "That was fun.."

Rainbow looks down at her for a second, smirking.

"Yeah, it was. And it's the first of many." she says, looking back up.

* * *

Rainbow approaches Fluttershy's large house, descending toward the porch. She flaps rapidly once she's about to deposit Fluttershy in order to slow them down. Dash skillfully sets Shy down, landing next to her afterward.

Rainbow starts to walk up to the door since Fluttershy seems reluctant to end the date. She smiles at her, asking a pretty obvious question. "So. You had fun?"

Fluttershy smiles back in her adorable, demure manner. "Ye-yes... a lot.."

Rainbow licks her nose. "Me too. Let's plan another one tomorrow at lunch, yeah?"

"O-Okay..! But-.. but.. um.. do.. do you want.. people to know.. about us?"

Rainbow sighs quietly, looking outward from the porch. "I honestly don't care what people think about us, but if word reached my parents . . . " she looks back at Shy, " . . . Well.. let's just not let word reach my parents."

Fluttershy nods, turning her ears back "I won't tell anyone. I promise.

Dash licks Shy's nose again thankfully, smiling. "Appreciate it."

They both shyly watch each other for several seconds before sharing another short kiss. When Rainbow pulls away, she smiles again. "See you tomorrow." then turns, jumping into the air to fly off back toward her parent's house.

Fluttershy watches Rainbow go until she's out of sight. Once Dash is gone, Fluttershy bounces a few times in place, smiling widely. She knocks on the door to let Felicity know that she's back, happily thinking to herself. _I'm dating Rainbow Dash..!_


	9. Chapter 9

Rainbow soars back to her own family's large house at a moderate speed, considering her situation. Depression, parents; happiness, Fluttershy; pain, home; pleasure, _away_ from home. She sighs. RD's point of view concerning the way her life is currently going can be summed up in the three words she thinks to herself upon spotting her dreary house: _This really sucks._

She lands on her porch, looking down at her key necklace. _I'm late. This is gonna' suck._ she thinks, taking the only key her parents allow her to have in her teeth. She inserts it into the lock protecting the front door of her house, twisting it before letting the key fall back down on her neck. Caution, unfortunately, is essential. Poor Rainbow doesn't want to end the high feeling left over from her date with Fluttershy by getting shouted at or beaten by Canon. Dash stands back up on all fours then puts a hoof to the door, slooooowly pushing it open. Seeing no immediate danger, Dash slowly walks inside, keeping a light step. She spreads her wings to make ready for a silent ingress, softly pushing the door closed behind her while glancing about the house.

Dash starts when she hears a burst of laughter from a group of ponies in the card room then sighs quietly, relieved. Her parents are busy entertaining. The only downside is the possibility that Reign will be drunk afterward. Rainbow takes to the air just a few feet off the floor, then carefully makes her way upstairs, quietly beating her wings. She didn't hear her father's laughter in the card room as all the others laughed, so she figures she'd better be cautious.

She makes it to her room without being hindered by her father or otherwise. Again, she carefully opens the door to prevent alerting anyone else to her presence, even though she's far upstairs. That presents more of a challenge for this far bigger, heavier door, weighed down by the many barriers Canon installed to keep Rainbow in whenever he felt like it. Once inside Rainbow turns and locks the door, not that it would do any good given Canon has the key, but it makes her feel safer nonetheless.

Rainbow turns and sits on her haunches, leaning back with a sigh. She tilts her head toward the ceiling, closing her eyes. She runs through her date with Fluttershy in her memory. A faint smirks starts to grow across her face. Shy wasn't trying too hard, since all she really had to do was be herself, but nonetheless Shy sure showed Dash a good time. Or.. Dash showed her a good time. Rainbow exhales, smirking wider. Whatever, it doesn't matter.

A thought occurs to Dash. Given the way her life is going right now, she wants to remember this day. Thinking that makes her blush slightly, but she doesn't notice, starting to smile now. Her family doesn't own a camera, so that's not an option. Not that there's anything to take a picture of. Dash gets up, starting to look around her room.

Her left ear flicks once when her eyes rest on her school notebook, sitting neatly on top of a pile of notebooks on her nice big workdesk. She could wriiiite about it..

Rainbow quickly turns her head away, closing her eyes with a slight frown. _No. That's for eggheads. I'm becoming enough of one._

Dash starts to look around for something else, but her eyes are slooowly attracted back to the notebook. She rolls her eyes at herself, sighing. She can give it a try, at least.

Dash walks over to the notebook, nudging the cover open with her nose. It's her earth science book, so it'll be pretty full. She closes it then pushes it aside, opening the next one. It's the empty one she planned on using for her Advanced Old Language study class since she's already filled the first notebook she brought there. She can always get her mother or father to allocate the funds for another notebook.

Dash removes the empty scrapbook from the top of the pile, putting it square in front of her. She takes a second to prepare a featherless ink quill, then opens up the cover. She stares down at the blank page, thinking of what to write. Despite her initial disinclination, a thousand things come to mind. She starts to write something with the quill in her teeth, then pulls back. Then again. And again. Then she just stares at the blank page for a minute, frowning now. Why can't she formulate her thoughts into words..? She has to do it every day at school..!

_...Okay. Start simple._

Rainbow exhales, then starts to write. She decides to write without stopping, mimicking a standard writing exercise. For Rainbow, the first two words are the absolute hardest to physically write on the paper.

_Dear Diary_ are those words. But then she accidentally scribbles off, raising an ear as she turns her head. Someone's coming up the stairs outside her door. Used to having to hide herself or her things very quickly in order to avoid her father's unwarranted rage, Rainbow reacts fast. She closes the notebook and quickly removes a textbook from her backpack, putting it beside her new "diary". She mutters under her breath about how she hates this house while she quickly trots forward, unlocking the door before whomever is there can get there to find it locked.

Rainbow notes that the footsteps are slow and not in sync as she trots toward her bed. Whomever it is, they've been drinking too much. Once on her bed, she gulps, frowning slightly as she watches the door.


	10. Chapter 10

The hoofbeat belonging to the pony coming up the stairs stops outside Rainbow's door. Dash watches it quietly, forcing her annoyed, angry expression to dull down just in case someone indeed ends up coming through. She hears some shuffling outside the door. It sounds like whomever it is has put their ear against it. The sloppiness and roughness of the movement due to the apparent drunkenness of the pony is what makes it audible.

Rainbow shifts uncomfortably, waiting for either the door to open or for whoever is there to go back down the stairs. To her surprise, the steps _actually_ _do_ start to descend back down the stairs. Once the ragged hoofbeat is out of earshot, Rainbow stands up on the bed. She stands there for another whole minute, keeping her head turned with an ear listening. Only after hearing another surge of merry laughter from downstairs does poor Dash finally relax.

She moves back over to the door, quickly locking it again just for the illusion of safety.

Dash takes her seat at the work desk, opening up her new diary again. She rolls her eyes as she pushes the textbook away, almost disgusted with the thought of keeping a.. diary.. as her eyes rest on the open notebook. She sighs quietly. At the back of her mind, Rainbow knows she needs to do this.. she needs some form of release for all of her repressed emotions.

Dash picks up her quill in her teeth, then just forces the tip to the paper, continuing from where she left off. Because of her natural talent at writing (which she possesses according to her teachers; Rainbow doesn't quite think so) she writes very clearly with beautiful calligraphy despite the rushed manner she writes with. Her style of writing would be something to be proud of, too.

Because she forces herself to write without stopping, Rainbow addresses the Diary as if she were talking to it. Luckily, she barely notices during her authoring. _Had_ she noticed, she probably would have just stopped right then . ._  
_

_. . . So, sorry about that scribble. Someone was coming up the stairs and they didn't sound in a pleasant way. _

_ I went on a date with Fluttershy earlier today and I am exhausted. It was.. merry, to say the least. We both had a great time. I've  
known her for a long time, and I've liked her for a long time, but this.. even the start of this.. relationship, was definitely worth the  
wait.  
_

_ I'm definitely looking forward to our next date. I think I'll take chocolate to her. Very apropos - I know for a fact she likes it more  
than just a little. I saw a.. _stockpile_ of it in her room when she took there (right alongside like, forty other types of candy). I knew  
she was a candy-muncher before, but she keeps the stuff in like, a ten foot cabinet in her room. It has more than ten shelves, I  
think.. and there were at least five huge jars on each shelf.  
_

_. . I like her a lot.  
_

Rainbow flicks an ear as she writes, going a little slower as she puts more thought onto the paper. She sighs as she dips her quill in an inkwell. _This is actually working.. _she thinks bitterly.

_More than a lot, I think.. but I don't know if this relationship can go anywhere._ _My parents are insane. Take it from me - I know.  
I've been living with them all my life. They're _definitely _not normal. Even beyond the abuse-your-child abnormality. I can see it  
in their eyes. Heh. Both insane. Probably the main link they felt in their odd love for each other.  
_

_If my dad found out I was dating Fluttershy, he'd probably kill me accidentally. When he beats me too hard for too long.. Whatever.  
If they ever find out, I'm just going to fly away as fast as I can. I just need them to pay for college then I'm done with them forever.  
They'd probably hunt me down or something since I can destroy them by just telling me what they've done (which I plan to do) but  
by then I'll be in the White Army's weather patrol.  
_

_Okay, Diary. You know enough about me so far. I'll tell you about the actual date tomorrow. I'll still remember.  
_

Rainbow sets her quill down after drying the tip on a small towel juxtaposed with the inkwell. She reads over her writing as she waits for the ink to dry, rolling her eyes almost every other line. _This is pathetic_, she thinks. _For the love of the gods, nobody can ever see this. Obviously not my parents, but _nobody _can see this. So pathetic and sad.._

But inside, she knows it isn't. Inside, she knows it helps.

Rainbow exhales on the ink, thinking how pens are so much better than stupid quills, then closes the notebook. She briefly glances around the room for a place to hide it. She's really good at that.

Dash decides to put her notebook right at the bottom of a pile of all her blank school notebooks, located underneath her desk - in large cabinet. She then stands up, putting a hoof to her mouth as she yawns. She glances at her bedside clock then smirks slightly. It's almost ten.

Rainbow flutters her wings then trots over to her bed, swishing her tail. She'll see Fluttershy tomorrow, that's something to look forward to at least. She won't have trouble sleeping even with the card game going on a few floors down, since it goes on pretty often. Sometimes it even gets.. out of hand with whomever they bring over.. but whatever.

Rainbow nudges up her blanket then folds her wings back, keeping them tight against her body as she slips under the covers. She wiggles around a little to get comfortable then brings the blanket up to her neck in her teeth. She forces herself to clear her mind, exhales, then sits still until she drifts off asleep. Rainbow was _way _more exhausted than she thought. It doesn't take long.


	11. Chapter 11

Next morning, Fluttershy is safely tucked into her insanely comfortable soul glyph-shaped bed, her front hooves over the top of her blanket. She has a little smile on her face, and _has _had a little smile on her face since since she got back from her.. "playdate" with Rainbow last night. Playdate is what it was called according to what she told Felicity when asking for permission.

Fluttershy's lovely babysitter lightly knocks on her bedroom door.

'Time to get up, Pookie~' she says in a quiet voice.

Our young Shy's a very light sleeper, so that's all it takes to rouse her. The adorable little yellow filly yawns silently before gently pushing the thick pink comforter off of herself, standing up on her waterbed. 'I'm awake..' she says quietly.

She had a great night's sleep. Fluttershy had no dreams last night, which is unusual, but that doesn't bother her. Sometimes after waking up she finds herself wondering how her mind could have conjured up such things in her dreams. She gets good dreams often enough that she doesn't have to worry about sleeping. Another thing to be scared of is the _last _thing Fluttershy needs.

"Good! I have a surprise for you~!"

Fluttershy tilts her head, looking at the door. She responds a little louder, in the middle of inwardly arching her back, stretching herself out. 'A surprii-..iiiiise~..?' she asks, yawning mid-sentence.

Shy hops down from the bed, quickly trotting over to her door. She nudges it open with her nose then smiles up at Felicity, who gives her a sweet smile in return. Fluttershy's charge turns about, starting to lead her through her room to the stairs. Shy follows abreast of Felicity, staring up at her.

Felicity keeps flicking her eyes sideways to glance at Shy with a little grin.

The little filly beats her tail. 'Surprise..?' she asks quietly.

'Mmmhmmmm~!' replies Felicity.

Fluttershy smiles a little, excitedly swishing her tail. 'What is it..?'

"It's on the kitchen table, Sweetheart."

Little Shy trots ahead of Felicity with a happy, excited gait. The babysitter watches her go with a smile, picking up her own speed just a little. Can't have her falling down the stairs, after all.

Fluttershy reaches the stairwell, starting to descend them with her wings spread, just in case. She flicks one of her ears excitedly, wondering what the surprise could be. A present? Maybe a fantastic breakfast? Mail from Asmara, where her parents are stationed? Hopefully the last one! She doesn't know why, but she's just so excited!

When she comes off the stairwell, she quickly trots to the left down a short hallway. After another left, she ends up in the foyer with the front door. Fluttershy pricks her ears up at the sound of shuffling from her destination. She quickly moves through the double-wide doorway into the large kitchen. The first thing she looks at is the kitchen table.

No mail. No plates.

Though she's a tad disappointed that there isn't any mail from her parents, Fluttershy is still eager to know what the surprise is. She looks back at the doorway she came through, where Felicity stands, and gives her an adorable questioning expression.

Felicity crosses her front and hind legs, leaning against the door frame. She's grinning at Fluttershy.

'Where is it?' asks Shy.

To her surprise, Fluttershy suddenly feels something painlessly collide with her. She flips in the air a few times in the assailant's grip then ends up tackled on her back, unharmed. She widens her eyes up at her attacker to see her mother, Hotshot, grinning down at her.

'Hey there, Angel Eyes.' she says.

Well. This is _definitely _a surprise for Fluttershy.

'M-mommy?' she murmurs. A big smile spreads across her face. 'You're.. you're back?'

Ace, Shy's father, moves into sight over her, grinning down at her much like Hotshot.

'Daddy!' she exclaims. Fluttershy tucks her front hooves into her chest. Her tail swishes rapidly a few times, brushing against Hotshot's hind legs each time it moves back and forth.

'Hey there, Sweetheart,' says Hotshot, smiling warmly. 'We badly missed you. And that's an understatement.'

Fluttershy giggles quietly then reaches toward her father with her front hooves. Once Hotshot scoots back and off of Shy, Ace holds out his own hoof. Fluttershy takes it with a tight grip then Ace flings Fluttershy onto his back. His daughter laughs happily, wrapping her front legs around Ace's neck, squeezing gently in a loving hug. Hotshot grins, walking forward. She once licks Fluttershy's nose, then closes her eyes and gently nuzzles her daughter's cheek. Felicity smiles happily, watching this lovely scene from the doorway.

Ace and Hotshot are both dyed white. Ace stands an impressive six feet tall, much taller than the average four to five foot heighth for Equestrian stallions. (Like a certain red stallion we all know.) If they weren't dyed, Ace would be white (convenient!) with a red mane, and Hotshot would be yellowish like Fluttershy with a white mane (also convenient!)

Fluttershy continues to giggle with a broad smile as she gets the loving attention from her parents that she sorely missed. 'How long will I have you both for..?'

At that question, Hotshot sighs quietly. 'Only today and tomorrow.'

Fluttershy's ears droop. 'Oh.. okay..'

Ace nuzzles up into Fluttershy's neck. 'Hey, don't worry. We'll make the best of the time we've got, right? We were thinking about taking you camping. You know, if you want.'

Normally, the prospect of going out into some random forest or into some open field with nothing to protect her but a few layers of cloth would be very unappealing to Fluttershy. However, camping with her _parents _sounds plain wonderful. Fluttershy lightly pulls her head back to give each of her parents a sincere smile. 'That sounds like fun..'

Hotshot grins. 'Alright, then. You can skip the day, considering your amazing grades,' she says. 'And hey, that close friend of yours Rainbow Rash has great marks too, right? If you'd like, you can bring her along.'

Fluttershy giggles quietly at her mother's joke. Since she rarely gets to spend time with her parents, she'd normally want to have them all to herself. Buuut.. she can definitely make an exception for Rainbow.

Rainbow's met Shy's parents before before, but she had no idea they are retired Wonderbolts nor had any knowledge of their standing in the White Army. Fluttershy knows Rainbow would _love _to talk to them, now.

'O-okay,' replies Fluttershy. 'She'd like that, I think..'

Hotshot licks her daughter's cheek again. 'Ask her at school, since it's just about time to go. We'll pick you up at lunch. If Rainbow can go, we'll wait until after school to head out. That sound alright?'

The yellow filly nods once, licking her mother's nose. 'Yes! Yes it does!


	12. Making plans, Rainbow?

Today is Rainbow's birthday.

Rainbow "celebrates" it privately because her parents do not celebrate it with her. They don't even make an effort to remember when it is. After all, why should they? To them it is just the anniversary of the day the greatest burden of their lives began to weigh them down. They only show Rainbow her birthday mail from extended family members then force her to write letters back, often including how happy she is (although Rainbow has no problem with that; she is happy to). Surprisingly, Canon and Reign even let their daughter keep the currency that comes with the cards.

Dash is already awake and ready for school. Her mane is combed, she's clean, and her backpack is slung across her shoulders. She stands in her room, staring up at her calendar. A team of Wonderbolts from 988 L.B. stare back at her from the cover of May, their expressions proud and smug.

_My birthday._ Dash feels nothing at all. She supposes a stallion who had just shortened his good leg with a power saw might feel the same species of nothing as he stood regarding his spouting stub with dull surprise.

Rainbow shifts her weight from side to side as she wonders what to do today. Other than, you know, school. Maybe she'll let Fluttershy know for once. She _has_ been asking about her birthday every year since the race in flight school. Rainbow's never told her friend because the way she figures it, Fluttershy would be expecting a party when the day came around. And, of course, there would never be one. And then Fluttershy would think she wasn't invited, or something . . best she just doesn't know. Maybe not any more . .

_Yeah. I'll tell her. I'll have someone to celebrate it with.__ If she wants, _Dash thinks to herself. She sighs quietly, a faint smile twitching at her lips. _I really hope she does. _

_ . . Gods, I like her._

Rainbow gently lifts one of her hooves off of the floor a few inches, flicking an ear. She suddenly casts her gaze back at her door when her father shouts from downstairs. "_Get that ass moving!"_ or something along those lines. She doesn't listen too hard.

Dash then takes a glance at her diary's hiding place, flicks her ear again, then trots out her door. With the thought that she gets to see Fluttershy for most of today at CMS, Rainbow gets excited. Shutting the door behind her our filly spreads her wings to prepare for a silent egress, grinning. _Alright, Fluttershy. Here I come. _

Flapping herself into the air, Rainbow descends the stairwell almost silently, heading through the house in this manner. She proceeds to fly out the front door without any contact with her parents, which all three ponies are thankful for.

* * *

Fluttershy arrives at CMS on Felicity's back. Again. Her parents would have been happy to take her, but they're understanding of Fluttershy's . . unwant for attention. Two parents that are obviously part of the armed forces would suddenly make Fluttershy quite a bit more popular.

Felicity smiles at Fluttershy as she climbs off of her sitter's back, onto the massive courtyard cloud in front of the building. "I'll see you in a few hours, back home!

When her babysitter flies off, Fluttershy glances around the courtyard while nipping at one of her backpack's straps to loosen it.

Like every day, plenty of students are arriving. The volume of students arriving from 0700 to 0830 is always rather high since Cloudsdale MS can hold quite a few students . . its capacity is six thousand nine hundred, to be exact. That figure may not sound like much, but that capacity makes it the second largest middle school on the continent. (The largest is in the Rennes.)

Little Shy flaps her wings a few times as she starts off toward the school's front doors, working the backpack's straps into her fur so that the pressure exerted by the straps on her body does not feel odd on her shoulders any more. She briefly but attentively scans the crowd for Rainbow's perfectly unique mane but cannot spot her. Once inside the building, just before she starts up one of the large staircases that will lead to her homeroom, another young filly comes up beside her, grinning.

Fluttershy blinks once as her flank is bumped into, looking to her side at the culprit. She smiles a little after seeing that it was one of her other friends, a blue orange-maned unicorn named Waterfire. They only share one class, P.E, but last year they had three together. Waterfire was always a very supportive friend and helps Fluttershy through gym every day. Shy's friend grins at her. "Hey there, Sexy-face. What's up?"

Fluttershy blushes as always at Watermark's usual nickname for her, lowering her head. 'H-Hey, Fire . . ' she replies.

Waterfire's cutie mark is a single "drop" of flame sitting over the universal symbol for water - three slightly wavy blue lines on top of each other. She earned her mark by rescuing two of her other friends out of a fire at a bowling alley before proceeding to extinguish it with creative use of magic - almost single-hoofedly - three years ago when she was ten.

'Avoidin' my gaze as usual, huh? I still say you've got something to hide~.'

Fluttershy does not respond, only shyly smiling behind her mane. Waterfire chuckles, playfully pushing at Fluttershy's shoulder as they walk. Gently, of course. 'Alright, I've got to go~ . . And hey. I know it's like, in your genes or something, but you need to stop being so shy! Then we can actually talk more! Y'know?'

Fire's homeroom is actually downstairs so she has no reason to be heading up with Shy other than to tease her friend.

Fluttershy gets a tad red at the cheeks, turning her head away as she responds. 'S-sorry . . I can't help it.'

Waterfire has to strain to hear her over the commotion around them. It takes her a moment to process the words because they were so faint, but she smirks and rolls her eyes when she finally understands. 'Well that's bullshit because according to Sigmare Freud you _can_, but arrighty then,' she says. She grins at Shy, 'I've gotta' go, see you in P.E.'

Fluttershy looks up suddenly before Waterfire turns, not wanting to mislead her. She says, 'O-oh, no . . you won't . . I'm leaving early . .'

Waterfire stops turning and looks at her instead, raising an eyebrow. 'Oh, you lucky filly. Why for?' she asks.

'Uhm . . my parents are home and I'm going to spend time with them . . We're going camping . . '

Waterfire blinks once. 'Woah, really?' She grins. 'Fluttershy camping huh? Then why the hell are you even here! You _never _get to see them!'

Fluttershy looks back down, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red than that from before. ' . . To ask Rainbow to come . .' she says.

Waterfire grins wider. This is the perfect ground for teasing because she knows about Fluttershy's infatuation. Waterfire can read even the most minute signs like a letter. 'Rainbow, huh? Your fillyfriend~?'

Fluttershy bites her lip, making an almost-inaudible "eep."

Waterfire presses on because she just loves teasing Shy. It's just so easy! She's not worried about eavesdropping in the middle of a busy crowd - everyone's minding their own business. 'I saw you both at the zoo yesterday~! And y'know, you're both _so_ adorable together.' She smirks at Fluttershy then says, 'And I knew she was a lesbo from the get-go.'

At Fluttershy's lack of response (probably due to her _inability_ to respond), Waterfire chuckles. 'Have fun for me, then. I'll see you when I see you!'

Fluttershy picks herself back up after Waterfire heads back down the stairs through the crowd of students. Hunh . . she knows. It's not a danger, no . . Fire won't tell anyone or spread rumors but, nonetheless, it is_ insanely_ embarrassing for Shy. No matter . . It doesn't matter.

* * *

Fluttershy reaches the hallway connected to her homeroom. Ponies shuffle by because Fluttershy tends to walk slower than her fellow students. Once she reaches her homeroom door, she peeks inside around the doorway.

No Rainbow.

Her seat is empty. Oh well . . maybe she'll be here soon. She's late preeetty often.

Shy calmly walks inside, ignoring the commotion of the other twenty-eight students already in the room. She sits down in her seat, stealing a glance at Rainbow's empty desk next to her. Shy's left ear flicks a few times then she looks up at her teacher's empty desk. Being late is _also _common to Mrs. Penn.

Speak of the devil.

Fluttershy looks up at the door when the classroom becomes silent, watching Mrs. Penn proceed to her desk. The black-furred unicorn takes her seat at her desk, muttering under her breath while she gets settled. Little Shy can't hold back a little smile when she thinks she hears her teacher say '..Gods-damn abortionists..'

'Ain't no fuckin' morals . .' the teacher mutters. Penn frowns when she looks up to see the entire class looking up at her with smiles and giggles. 'The bell has not rung, yet. Keep talking amongst yourselves,' she tells them. When the class resumes its standard of chaos Penn looks down at her desk and begins to write, scribbling on a paper with an ink quill she holds with magic.

Fluttershy looks at the clock as the commotion resumes and sees that there's another five whole minutes before the first bell rings. Mmh.. Hopefully Rainbow gets here soon. That way Shy can ask her about the trip and get it out of the way. They share every class today, but Fluttershy likes to be punctual. Earlier the better, means less worrying . . Oh!

Fluttershy quickly sits up straight when she sees Rainbow walk through the door, smiling happily at her. When Rainbow makes eye contact and smiles back, Fluttershy quickly finds herself blushing already. She shyly looks down.

Rainbow drops her backpack next to her seat then smirks at Fluttershy as she sits down. 'Hey there,' she says.

'H-hey,' her fillyfriend replies. Fluttershy brings herself to look up at Rainbow, smiling . . 'Ho-How are you?'

'I'm great . . even better now,' replies Rainbow, grinning. 'And yourself?'

Fluttershy's tail swishes excitedly at the compliment and she looks down again, bright red now. 'J-just the same . .'

Shy starts to rub a hoof back and forth across her desk, staring down at it. 'Uhm . . Rainbow? Can I ask you something?'

Dash, who worms around in her chair to get more comfortable, nods. 'Yeah- . . Of course. But then it's my turn to tell you something. What's up?'

Fluttershy smiles up at Rainbow for a third time, flicking her ear. 'Uhm . . My . . my parents are home,' she says.

Rainbow sits up taller herself, watching her.

'And we're . . going camping today . . we're leaving at lunchtime.' says Shy. She continues quietly, 'Annd . . they said it would be okay . . if I-.. invited you . . '

Rainbow blinks, flicking an ear. She feels conflicted about this. Sure as hell she wants to go, but she doesn't want to rob Fluttershy of her time with her parents. Rainbow figures that her presence would be a distraction. Besides, do Shy's parents _really_ want her there? Seems like they'd want to spent the time with their daughter. She is definitely flattered by the offer though. 'Woah . . really?'

Fluttershy nods, smiling a little wider. She tells her, 'They actually suggested it . . '

_That _changes things. Dash blinks again, a grin spreading across her face. 'Really? Okay. I'd love to,' she says. Then, with a sigh, 'Nnh . . but I have to ask my own parents.

Fluttershy bites her lip. That could be problematic. 'Okay . . ' she says. 'How will you do it before lunch..?'

Rainbow shrugs. 'I could take off early after just going around and collecting my work. Just tell my parents that I'll do it when I'm out with you guys.'

Fluttershy nods a little. She asks, 'Okay . . I suppose you'll have to leave now..?'

Dash nods and gets up out of her chair, pulling her backpack back over her shoulders. 'Yeah. I'll meet you at your house around lunch?'

Fluttershy nods again, watching her fillyfriend stand. 'Okay . . good luck . . ' she says. She smiles again, turning a shade of red as she speaks 'But-.. but you won't need it..'

Rainbow grins at her, holding up her left front leg for a brohoof, which Fluttershy shyly accepts. 'Damn straight. See you soon!'

Mrs. Penn doesn't even look up when Rainbow starts for the door.

Fluttershy watches Dash trot out of the room, smiling dreamily. She quickly looks down when she catches herself, sighing quietly as she feels her cheek with a hoof. If anyone asks, she could get away with calling it a minor fever, given how warm her face is from all the blood rushing to her cheeks . .

Our little blue pegasus sets about collecting the necessary paperwork.

Lucky for her, Rainbow's teachers adore her despite her heavily rebellious nature. Though Dash gets into verbal and physical fights often, talks back when she feels that she's in the right, shows off more often than the adults like, has a short temper and little tolerance for laziness or things she feels could be done a different way, through her teacher's eyes, her good traits outweigh the bad ones. She will always help students that are having trouble with a lesson . . and always has the opportunity because she tends to finish her work early every class. Rainbow will make friends with almost everyone, so long as others put in the effort. She stands up for herself and for her friends. She actually does schoolwork. She'd be the perfect student if only she'd just _behave._

So, getting the work she'll miss from each class is easy. Most of her teachers are happy to see her before the bell rings. Once all of her busy work is in her backpack with her textbook reading assignments, Rainbow flies out the front of the school, heading back to her house._ Ho boy, this'll be fun . ._

_ . . Please, Venus, let them say yes . . _


	13. Three Bullets

Strong language.

* * *

Rainbow cautiously descends down onto the front porch of her house. She worms through the straps of her backpack to get it off then gently eases it onto the floor. Dash starts to sift through her key necklace, contemplating how she should go about asking for permission to go camping. On one hand, her parents might he happy to have her out of their manes for a while. On the other, they might outright _quarantine_ her for "ditching" school, even if she _did _bring all the work she'dve missed.

She finds the key she needs and unlocks the front door.

Rainbow picks up her backpack by one of the straps, carrying it between her teeth. She walks through the house to find her father. Her mother will be at work at the high school today, so she'll just look for him. She simply assumes that he's here somewhere. Dash has never bothered to learn Canon's schedule because . . well, she's never needed to. Both of her parents are almost always at home when she gets back after school.

_I guess if nobody's home to ask I'll just leave a note or something then . . just go. _

Deciding to check Canon's usual spot first, Dash stops in front of her father's office. The door is closed. Dash knows he's in there - she hears scribbling of pen on paper through the thin hard-cloud door. She inhales and exhales through her nose a few times then knocks.

Her father's voice passes through. ' . . Who is it?'

Rainbow closes her eyes and grits her teeth. She lets her backpack fall to the floor before answering. ' . . Me.'

'Rainbow? What the fuck are you doing here?' he asks. Canon's voice, to Rainbow's relief, does not sound angry or even annoyed. He just sounds . . tired . . at least, that's what Rainbow thinks.

Dash quickly responds, shifting on her hooves. 'I'm here to ask you something . . I already got all the work from all my teachers that I would have missed today.'

After a few moments of silence, Dash hears Canon grunt. 'Okay, come in,' he says reluctantly.

Rainbow pushes open the door, looking up at her father. He's sitting in his chair behind his low-lying hard cumulus desk. Paperwork is scattered all over it and he has an open envelope in front of him, the contained letter still inside. Apparently Dash interrupted him. As she walks in, Dash tries not to let her deep-seeded hatred of her father show through her surface in any expression on her face nor through any of her actions. Because she's had plenty of practice, she does a good job of it.

Canon rests his head on one of his hooves, which he supports on his table. 'What do you want?'

Rainbow is a very manipulative filly when it comes to dealing with her parents. Dash settles back on her haunches, lowering her head and her ears to appear more submissive. As part of her manipulation, she begins to speak in a quiet voice and with a shy tone. 'Uhm . . ' she says. 'Fluttershy wants . . to go camping. It-.. It'd be an overnight . . playdate . . and . . we're going with Felicity . . She'd watch us . . '

Canon raises an eyebrow. A request like this is unprecedented. Sleepovers when she was ten, maybe, but a campout? He lifts his head, crossing his front legs on the table. He seems to ponder something for a moment, looking off to the side away from Rainbow.

Poor Dash sits and watches for almost an entire minute, flicking an ear. She nervously waits for his answer.

'You know what, Rainbow,' he finally says. 'I think I'll let you go.'

Dash perks up, but she senses something else coming. She waits for him to continue.

Canon tugs at a drawer on the side of his desk with one of his hooves then reaches into it with his snout. In his teeth he takes from the drawer an object covered in paper. Rainbow watches him curiously, tilting her head a few inches to the side. When her father sets the object down, it creates a faint metallic "clunk." Dash says nothing.

'You're old enough, now, Rainbow, to understand what would happen if you told anyone about your . . situation here,' he says. 'Your mother and I would lose our jobs, be jailed, and you would most likely be put with a good family. Much better than us.'

Canon places a hoof on the obscured object, keeping his eyes on his daughter. 'I suppose the only thing that has prevented you from doing just that up to this point has been intimidation. You're another year older today'

(_Hey. He remembered.)_

'-so I'm going to up the ante.'

Dash watches as her father unwraps the object then gently push the paper aside. It's a revolver.

Dash looks back up at him, assuming a grim expression. She's not surprised that the weapon was in his desk - that revolver is one of at least twenty weapons in the house. Her parents are firearm hobbyists. They can't handle a sword or any other melee weapon for their lives, though. They keep the weapons and ammunition in a safe upstairs, so Rainbow would never be able to gain access. At least, she _thought _they were all in the safe.

Canon continues, perfectly serious. 'If you tell anyone about us. Anyone at all. I'll use this Colt. Three shots.'

He points a hoof at Rainbow. 'First you, when I find you,' he says.

He gently points his hoof off to the side, waving it off in some random direction. 'Then your mother.'

Lastly, he gestures at himself, leaning forward a little as he puts his hoof back down on the table. He says plainly, 'Then me.'

Rainbow just stares at him for a few seconds, slooowly standing up taller. _That _caught her off guard.

After several moments of silence, Canon continues. 'You know that I'm well armed.' he says. He begins to shake his head. 'I _don't care_ if I have to pick up a rifle and blast through all of Celestia's White Army or all of your friends to get to you. If you tell anyone about us, your mother and I will have nothing to lose. I _will_ find you. I _will_ draw this revolver. The first bullet that _will_ come out of the barrel of this .38 _will_ be meant for you.'

Canon leans back in his chair, grinning at Dash. Rainbow crazily considers trying to grab the revolver to shoot him right then. But it is closer to him than it is to her. It could end badly. The part of her brain that was urging her on gives up trying at the sense of that logic.

'This revolver has always been in my desk for just that purpose,' says Canon, chuckling. 'Three bullets have been sitting in the cylinder since you could fucking _speak_. Maybe you'll _finally_ give me the chance to use it. We'll see, won't we?'

Canon waves a hoof toward the door, getting tired of Dash's lack of response. 'Get the fuck out,' he says. 'Go have fun with your friend.'

Without hesitation, Rainbow Dash passes out the door and closes it behind her. She stumbles for a moment, feeling leans against the wall until she recovers. She picks up her backpack in one of her hooves, taking a moment to pull it over her back.

_I'll go upstairs and . . pack for the trip, I guess . ._

She spreads her wings to fly, lightly shaking her head. 'What the fuck . . ' she mutters to herself. Then, _Why did _they _have to be my parents? Why did I have to be born to _them_? _

This is fucking insane. _Can't wait to just get _out _of here. _


	14. How it is

Rainbow flies upstairs to her room, starting to pack. Since she expects to have to do homework while out there, she shoves the textbooks that weren't already in her backpack in with the others. Also into her backpack go pens, quills, a sealed inkwell, last month's issue of the Wonderbolt's fan magazine, and lastly, Dash's new diary. She's going to have a lot to write about tonight.

While Rainbow packs, she remembers thinking it stupid when she read somewhere that victims of rape would not want to report the crime simply because their assailant threatened to kill them if they _did _report it. Come on. As if they'd be able to even know they've been tattled on before they got arrested? That didn't make sense to her.

Well, now Rainbow's living it.

She does . . have more reason than her own personal safety, though. That's not even foremost among her concerns. The problem lies with what her father would do if some White Army soldiers came a-knocking on his door. He'd probably just shoot them, or fly out the back of the house and go on a shooting rampage or . . who knows what he'd do. He'd definitely kill something. And Rainbow feels like she'd have the victims' blood on her hooves.

Rainbow would rather endure this hell for a few more years than feel responsible for starting a chain of events that would most likely end up with one or more dead ponies.

Dash zips up her now-heavy backpack, pulling it on again with a deep sigh. At least this might . . mean she gets more freedom around and out of her home. Canon threatened her with death if she told anyone about her standard of living so, in an odd way, that _might_ increase the amount of trust her parents (or, at least her father) have in her.

On the other hand, it might mean everything will be ten times worse.

_We'll see, _Dash thinks to herself. She fixes her backpack on tight in order to make for a silent egress through the house.

_For now, I'll play ball. _


	15. Time to go!

_**Sorry this took so long, time is hard to come by! I managed to squeeze in some time this weekend (unfortunately when I was tired) so this is the raw result. I sincerely hope you enjoy it!**_

* * *

Fluttershy sits in her Equestrian history class, twiddling her hooves. The lecture is over and she has already finished the assignment (and the homework) that followed it and is now waiting, bored. The only friend she has in this class, Sun Spots, is absent today. Next period is lunch, the time her parents are supposed to come get her. She looks at the clock again.

11:39.

Sixteen more minutes and it'll be 11:55, the time when this class is dismissed. Shy starts to (very) quietly tap one of her hind hooves on the floor, too excited to stay still. Within three hours she'll be on her way to the nearby Narfai forest with her parents and, hopefully, Rainbow Dash! Oh, dear, she really hopes Rainbow can go. It wouldn't hurt Dash to spend some time away from her mean parents..

Fluttershy wouldn't have believed it if anyone other than Rainbow told her about Dash's parents. On the few occasions Shy met them they just seemed to be so nice.. they offered her something to eat and drink on each occasion, were very polite, and had good posture. Their posture (and the way they carried themselves) was so profoundly professional that even Fluttershy, who judges people on appearance zero percent of the time, took notice.

Shy jumps as the chime in the bell tower standing tall over the school chimes right at 11:55, signaling the start of lunch period. She faintly blushes but is too excited to worry about that right now. She lifts her backpack up off the floor by one of its straps then pulls the yellow, pinkish bag over her back. She stands up to leave with the rest of the class. Her wings flutter as she walks through the classroom door.

* * *

Actually unsure of where to meet her parents, Fluttershy waits outside the door to the school's office next to the lunchroom, where all the bureaucrats report for their work every day. Her parents will have to go into the office to sign for her, anyway. Like a package. It's kind of silly.

Shy sits patiently, though, watching the front door to the school. A little smile forms on her face as she again finds herself too excited to stay still, consistently swaying her tail like an excited puppy. She doesn't have to wait for long, thankfully!

Ace and Hotshot, each with a large camping backpack mounted between their wings, trot through the front doors of the school. They both smile happily at their daughter when they see Shy, who goes forward to meet them halfway. Not really caring that several other students can see, Fluttershy hugs them both tightly with a big happy smile. "H-hi..!" she says quietly.

Hotshot picks up her excited daughter and does one twirl with her in the air, causing Fluttershy to giggle. After giving her daughter a playful, painless noogie, she sets her down and both parents look at her with a big grin. "Hey there, Shy! You ready?"

Shy tilts her head down shyly but watches them with a big smile, "Y-yes..!" She shifts a little on her seat, biting her lip in anticipation, but still smiling. "Uhm.. have you seen Rainbow..? Do you know if she can go?"

Ace and Hotshot share a glance and a shake of their heads before looking back down at Shy. "Not that we've seen, yet. We can go by her house afterward and talk to her parents? Is here in school?" replies Ace.

"N-no.. she took off early to ask if she could go.."

Hotshot nods. "Alrighty," she says. "We'll head over to see if she can go, then."

Fluttershy nods and sits up straighter, smiling between her parents. "Okay..!"

"You just huggle your father tight, Shy," says Hotshot. "I'll go sign you out then we'll leave."

Fluttershy happily obliges, emitting a happy noise as she snuggles her father tight. Ace hugs her back, winking and smirking at Hotshot before giving their daughter his full attention.

* * *

A smiling Fluttershy is carried away from the school in the hooves of her mother who keeps a tight, comfortable grip on Shy with all four extremities. Shy's front hooves are hanging over Hotshot's hooves that are wrapped around her chest and she keeps swishing her tail, excited for the day ahead. She really hopes Rainbow can go, though, and is itching to find out.

"Can we go by home first to get my things.." asks Shy. "If Rainbow _can_ go, she'll be all ready to leave."

Without hesitation, Shy's parents alter their courses. Hotshot gives Shy a gentle squeeze, smiling down at her. "Sure thing!"

Ace, to entertain Fluttershy, starts to do very slow barrel rolls in a vertical circle around Hotshot, who rolls her eyes with a grin. Fluttershy watches with a big smile.

Shy knows she'll never be that good at flying but it doesn't bother her. She never even thinks about it. Her destiny is to, well, take care of animals, basically. And she's the best at it. Not that she'd just _say _that to _anybody..._ but she knows it. It's not a grand destiny, either, but Fluttershy is more than happy with it - she doesn't want anything more.

The short side-trip to the family house ends with a happy surprise for Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash is sitting on the porch of the household with her camping bag under her head. She's not sitting, really, but laying. She's on her back, hind legs crossed and bouncing, front legs crossed behind her head. Cozy.

Shy quickly whispers at her parents, asking them to fly in slowly and quietly. Definitely ones for pranks, Ace and Hotshot agree with big grins plastered on their faces. They silently dive under the house (which almost causes Fluttershy to emit a noise) and then slowly creep up toward Rainbow, like some of the infamous Blue Sea eighty-foot sharks coming from the depths of the sea to ruin someone's day.

Coming up over the side of the porch from underneath Ace and Hotshot creep. Fluttershy smiles at Rainbow from Hotshot's grip even though she can't see, twitching her tail.

Rainbow simply flicks one of her ears and opens an eye. Suddenly seeing the three figures looming over her startles her to no small extent. She jolts awake and stands up straight surprisingly fast, wings spread. With a sigh, she rolls her eyes with a dumb grin when she sees who went through the trouble to alarm her. She laughs sarcastically, but with no venom. "Haaaa-haha. Funny."

She sits down and smiles at the three offenders as they heartily laugh. Fluttershy only giggles with a hoof at her mouth, smiling very widely at Rainbow. Hotshot sets Fluttershy down on the porch then lands to her left. Ace lands to her right, and all three happily smile at Rainbow.

Dash grins at them, lifting a hoof. "Y-yeah. Hi, guys. Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Sure thing," says Ace, laughing. Hotshot winks at her.

Fluttershy trots over to Rainbow and braves a hug. Rainbow, pleasantly surprised, hugs her back. This is a very platonic gesture, but she can't help feeling a bit embarrassed being right in front of Shy's parents 'n all...

Rainbow squeezes Fluttershy before the hug is mutually ended, then smiles at her. "Hey! I know you're way more than smart enough to see my bag, but, I can go."

Shy's parents hover in the air, sharing a knowing smirk before looking down at the fillies. "Okay," says Ace. "Let's head off! Can you carry Shy for us, Rainbow?"

Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy blush at that but the former manages to give a serious nod. Ace chuckles, smirking at Hotshot again. "We'll be on the ceiling inspecting the.. gutters." Then both parents disappear over the porch roof.

Rainbow looks at Fluttershy with a little smirk. Shy looks down with a big smile, getting redder. "S-.. So.. uhm.. hi.."

"Hey, there." says Rainbow seductively.

This causes Shy to blush even more. "D-.. did your parents take the question well..?"

Rainbow flicks an ear, watching her fillyfriend for a moment. "Uhm.. yeah, it was fine," she assures.

Shy, sensing the lie, looks back up at her. "Are.. you sure..?" she asks quietly. Rainbow looks off, giving a slight nod.

Fluttershy bites her lip, watching her for a moment. She then leans forward and closes her eyes, giving Rainbow's neck a gentle nuzzle. This yields a smile from the blue-furred pony, who swishes a tail. "Thanks, Shy.."

Fluttershy pulls back and smiles at Rainbow, still blushing. "You're.. you're welcome.." She faintly coughs, barely audible. "L-.. let's go."

Rainbow nods, pulling her bag over her back. "Right, yeah." Then picks up Shy much like her mother did earlier, smiling. "So, uh, where'd they go?"

Ace and Hotshot come down from the roof, the former holding Fluttershy's bag. "You fillies ready? Let's go!"

Rainbow flies after the former Wonderbolts, squeezing Fluttershy. The pony in her arms looks up at Dash, deciding to ask one more time before reverting back to shy mode. "Y-you're sure everything's okay?"

After a moment's hesitation, Rainbow replies. " . . Yeah."


	16. Flyin'

The four ponies proceed north together. Rainbow follows Fluttershy's parents from a distance for the first few hours so they can have some.. private time, more or less. Rainbow's also pretty sure that her parents know what's going on between her and their daughter, so it's not surprising to Dashie that they're giving her and Shy some space. She's sure that they at least _suspect_ something. Rainbow expects to be subtly teased about it, but oh well. If they _are_ okay with it then that's just awesome.

During the natural lulls in conversation with Fluttershy (which only occur when she falls asleep in Rainbow's arms) Rainbow watches the way Ace and Hotshot fly. They're using a very interesting flap motion that Rainbow's never seen before or read about. With Shy still asleep, Rainbow accelerates a bit to catch up with them to inquire. With a few extra flaps Rainbow comes up beside Ace, looking up when Hotshot addresses her.

"Heya there, Rainbow," she says, grinning. "Treating my daughter right?"

Oh, Venus. Surely she knows...

"Y-yeah," Rainbow replies. "She's been asleep for like . . ten minutes."

Ace grins at Hotshot for a moment before smirking at Rainbow. "Isn't she a cute sleeper?"

Rainbow coughs. "U-uh... I wanted.. to-.. to ask about your flight form.."

Both of Shy's parents immediately perk up. Hotshot rises over Ace so that she doesn't have to keep looking around him at her. "Yeah?" they say simultaneously, taking no notice of each other. "What about it?"

Rainbow grins a little bit at their reactions. Kind of amusing how much they want to answer her questions - they didn't even take notice of their simultaneous speaking. "Well, uh. What is it?"

Ace does a sudden, quick barrel roll at the question before grinning at Rainbow. Hotshot rolls her eyes and decides to let Ace explain it, smirking to herself. "It's a combat flight technique," he says. "Pretty damn hard to learn but worth knowing."

He slows down his flapping and the other two pegasi match pace. "This special wing pattern manipulates and stimulates all eighty-seven muscles in each wing - including the ones that you don't even need to fly. It stimulates the part of your brain that processes the magic in the air that you use to stay suspended and to accelerate. It increases your intake of the magic in the air and lessens the effort needed. Ninety percent of flying is magic, you know, so efficiency is everything for long flights."

Rainbow watches Ace fly as he explains, nodding. "That's awesome... learned that in the army?"

"Seraphim, actually," replies Hotshot before Ace can. "This pattern is extremely difficult to learn and soldiers don't do a lot of long-distance flying so it's not taught in basic. Though I think it should be."

Ace nods in concurrence. Rainbow swishes her tail, glancing between Shy's parents. "I'm a really fast learner - I bet I could learn it fast, too. Think.. maybe, you can teach me?"

"You know," Dash says, grinning. She tightens her grip around Fluttershy. "For keeping such good care of your daughter.."

Ace and Hotshot laugh good-naturedly, both smiling at Rainbow now. "Yeah, I think we can arrange that!" says the latter, still laughing.

Rainbow looks forward, smirking. She tries her best to ignore the slight blush growing on her cheeks. Yeah, they definitely have to know. Rainbow could just.. well, _ask _if they do. But, to her private, deep-secret shame, she can't work up the courage. Rainbow's parents are very pleasant and nice, but they could like, turn into ice vipers that would suddenly turn around and bite you if you approached them the wrong way. Maybe.. it'd be best to just ask Shy, or even leave bringing it up (if they're going to bring it up at all) to Shy and Shy alone.

Rainbow shivers a bit and tightens her grip around Shy just a bit more again, smiling at her fillyfriend's parents for a second before turning her gaze back forward. They've started to discuss where they should stop for a break in hushed tones for Shy's sake, contrary to earlier.


	17. Chapter 17

Though a bit overcast, Flutter's dear old parents decided to set down for a picnic in a field of daisies. Ace and Hotshot both insisted, mostly to each other, that there wouldn't be any rain. And if there was, they could easily go change that. That conversation sure lasted a while and they're definitely amusing to watch when they get into it.

Although Rainbow won't admit it she's happy to take a break since Shy was started to get heavy after three hours of flying. She.. actually started getting heavy after thirty minutes but.. you know, Rainbow decided to push through it to impress Shy's parents. But she won't admit that, either.

Shy has been asleep the _whole _time!

"Did she stay up late or something?" asks Rainbow, smirking.

"Hehehe. Not as far as I can tell," responds Ace. Both parents grin at Rainbow as they land in a grassy patch, watching Rainbow try to land without disturbing Fluttershy. Poor Dash's pectorals are burning with the extra effort of setting her friend down without waking her. When Shy is settled, Rainbow quickly lands next to her. She makes sure not to do it _too_ quickly, folding her wings back casually as if the strong, dull aching wasn't there.

Dashie smiles at Shy's parents, trying hard not to let her shortness of breath affect her voice. "Yeah? Seems like she stayed up all night.."

Ace and Hotshot grin at each other as they settle into a seated position just a few feet from the younger ponies, turning back toward Rainbow when they're nice and comfy on their bellies. "She sleeps like a baby in the hooves of someone she likes," teases Hotshot. "Like me, her father . . or you, apparently!"

Dash bites her lower lip, slowly sitting down on her belly as blood starts to rush to her cheeks. "Uh... right, good-.. good to know.."

Hotshot giggles quietly, leaning into her husband. Both parents watch their daughter and her new fillyfriend for a few moments, appreciating how adorable they look together. Since she was set down, Fluttershy has curled up into quite the adorable position. Rainbow, wearing an awkward smirk now, shifts from side to side uncomfortably. Shy's parents are _so _doing this on purpose. "S-.. so, uh. Hate to ask but.. I'm kind of hungry. When do we eat?"

"When Fluttershy wakes up," says Ace. "She has always woken up a few minutes after stopping on trips like this."

Rainbow nods, looking at Fluttershy. She smiles after a moment.

Hotshot rolls over onto her back, her side still pressed against her husband. She throws a glance Rainbow's way. "Do you play any instruments, Rainbow Dash?"

Dashie looks up, sitting up a bit straighter. She grins a bit, knowing she'll be able to impress them. "Oh! Uh, yeah, actually! I can play guitar and.. sing." She rolls her eyes at herself. "Well.. sort of sing.."

Hotshot raises an eyebrow, grinning. "You can play a guitar..?"

"Isn't that an instrument for beings with.. you know, fingers or claws?"

"Sure can!" says Rainbow proudly, beaming at them both.

"Daaamn, filly! You'll have to show us some time!" says Hotshot. She rolls back over on her belly, grinning at Rainbow now. Ace nods in agreement, a similar expression on his own face. "I can make one.. I think, if you can tune it. I know just the plant," he offers.

Dash chuckles quietly at Hotshot's reaction, grinning back at the both of them. "Yeah..? I can tune one if.. you can like, actually make one. You know how to wind the strings and.. make it hollow and stuff..?" she asks.

"I've had to make a cello for Celestia before. Same concept, I think, if I can find the stringplant I'm thinking of."

Hotshot playfully shoves Ace, scoffing at him. "Don't you go telling that story, now!"

"I won't," says Ace, smugly winking at her.

Rainbow decides not to inquire on that matter. Instead, she tries to drift back onto their previous subject, smirking a bit. "Yeah.. I can play for you if you can make a guitar. Which I doubt," she says playfully.

"Ooooooooh~!" says Hotshot, looking up at her husband. Ace smirks at Rainbow. "Well I~ honestly doubt that you can play guitar! Let's prove each other wrong!"

"Deal!" says Rainbow, holding out a hoof.

They shake on it.


	18. Chapter 18

Fluttershy awakens with a yawn to find herself on her back, comfy underneath some blankets inside of her yellow pitched tent. She smiles a little when she remembers where she is. Her tail swishes once.

Shy hooks under the blanket with her nose and gently shoves it aside, starting to roll over on her belly. She suddenly stops herself, wide-eyed, when she realizes that she's about to collide with the sleeping Rainbow Dash, who is on her side next to her. At the mere sight of her sleeping fillyfriend, Fluttershy begins to blush. She moves back to her original position then rolls the other way, standing up from there. She softly bites her lower lip and takes a few moments to examine Dash, her blush growing deeper. Fluttershy decides to quietly unzip the tent flap and step outside before her face burns up.

As she steps outside Fluttershy narrows her eyes from the sudden brightness of the sun, tilting her head downward. However after taking a few steps toward the other, much larger tent on the other side of the burnt-out campfire, the sun is shielded behind the array of pine trees surrounding the small campsite. Her eyes fall on the zipper of her parents' tent, which is all the way up in the open position. She can't really see inside, but she's assuming at least one of them is gone off somewhere. They really like to explore the wilderness despite how dangerous it can be. And they know for a fact that Fluttershy can handle animals all by herself.

Fluttershy comes up to the tent, gently poking her nose through the break in the flaps. Her mother is there on her back underneath what looks like ten blankets, snoring loudly with her mouth wide open. Shy giggles quietly, pulling her head back out with a smile.

_Well.. better find my books. _

At the mere thought of going into the tent with Rainbow, Fluttershy starts to blush again. She rolls her eyes at herself and sighs quietly, stopping and sitting on her haunches. She can't let Rainbow see how easy she makes her blush. Though.. Rainbow probably already knows. Mmh. Nonetheless, she'll just sit riiiight here until her cheeks calm down.

"So there," she whispers to herself.

* * *

About a half hour later, Rainbow opens her eyes in a sudden awakening. She closes them immediately, smiling when she remembers where she is. Anywhere's better than home, but here especially.

Rainbow spreads her wings and stretches out, enjoying the dull ache in her back for a moment before standing up. She flaps her wings a few times, tilting her head both ways to stretch her neck while moving toward the flap. She folds her wings back and sticks her head outside. She winces at the sun but ignores it, smirking when she sees Fluttershy sitting next to the now-roaring fire. She's laying on her belly atop a picnic blanket, staring into the fire.

"Hey there," says Dash.

Fluttershy jumps, widening her eyes. She gets instantly red, quickly settling back down with a little smile. "H-Hey, Rainbow.."

Dash walks out of the tent and toward her fillyfriend, smiling now. "I slept well, how about you? You were asleep for like.. sixteen hours straight. Do our interactions really tire you out _that_ much?"

"W-well," starts Shy. "Y-.. yes, actually.."

With a chuckle, Rainbow sits down next to Fluttershy. She faces the fire as well, smiling sideways at her counterpart. With a hint of 'I already knew it', Rainbow says "Really, now? That easy?"

"I should be more careful with this power.. it would be so~ easy to abuse.."

Shy only gets redder, lowering her head. She smiles wider, though. The two fillies smile at each other for several seconds then, to the surprise of both ponies, they lean forward to lick each others noses at the same time. They instead end up licking each others tongues, causing Fluttershy to recoil and turn away in embarrassed shock, eyes squeezed shut. She "eeps" quietly and sits there, hoping Rainbow isn't mad.

Rainbow, equally surprised, leans away. She grins but starts to blush, herself, watching Fluttershy's reaction with a mix of happiness and a hint of jealousy. No way could she ever be that adorable. She leans over and gives Shy another lick on her cheek, starting to gently nuzzle the side of her neck. "Hey, perk up! That was totally Caleph and Venus telling us to kiss."

The yellow filly giggles quietly despite herself, just taking Rainbow's show of affection since she can barely move.

A third voice makes both fillies freeze with wide eyes.

"Awwwww~," says Hotshot, grinning. About half of her is through the tent flap, on her belly with her arms crossed.

Rainbow pulls away and stares up at the sky, wide-eyed. Fluttershy sits up straight, staring down into the fire.

"What's wrong, you two?" she teases. "I ain't got anything against you both datin'. I think you're both adorable together."

Of course, this only deepens the two fillies' embarrassment. Each head slooowly turns toward the other and they briefly make eye contact but Fluttershy breaks it, immediately looking down. Rainbow bites her lip, looking behind them to give Hotshot an awkward smile.

Hotshot winks at her, grinning wider.


	19. Chapter 19

Rainbow angles her head slightly downward, managing to maintain eye contact with Shy's mother. Fluttershy, meanwhile, is pretty much frozen.

"So... uh.. so you.. know?" she asks.

Hotshot snorts at the silly question, standing up to stretch out. "Mmmnaaaa... ah. Yeah, it's pretty obvious. Especially since you just zoomed in on each other," she says with a grin.

Rainbow turns back forward, pretty red herself.

"Ace is out hunting down the materials for your guitar. Gonna' impress us, right?" teases Hotshot, sitting back on her haunches out in front of the tent when she finishes stretching.

Rainbow's tail swishes once. Looking back at Hotshot again, she mutters "Gonna' impress the heck out of you.."

With a laugh, Shy's mother stands up and moves toward the fire. She stops next to Fluttershy, giving her a tight one-legged hug that snaps her out of her shock. Fluttershy hugs her back tightly and makes a quiet, adorable, pleasurable noise. She's elated and honestly, shocked, that her mother is okay with this.. relationship. But she has no complaints. Oh, none whatsoever. Rainbow looks sideways at them with a little grin, shifting from side to side for a second.

Hotshot releases Fluttershy then spreads her wings, smirking at both fillies. "I'm going to see if I can track down my husband. We all know Fluttershy is perfectly capable of calming any animals that might wander in. Just don't eat random plants and you'll be fine."

Both younglings nod at Hotshot, Rainbow smirking sideways at Shy after a moment.

Hotshot flaps her wings a few times then rises into the air, giving the two young fillies a wink and a salute before turning to fly off in the general direction Ace went off to. She won't have any trouble finding him at all; she didn't go to tracking school for nothing.

Dash watches Hotshot disappear into the thick forest. Then she sloooooowly turns her head to look at Fluttershy with a huge teasing grin.

" . . . Yes?" asks Shy teasingly, color flooding her cheeks.

"Oh~, nuffin'~" comes the baiting reply. Then, after a moment, " . . Your mom's really cool."

Fluttershy giggles quietly. "She is.."

With Hotshot gone Rainbow closes the distance between her and her fillyfriend with just a few steps, bringing down her head to nuzzle the side of Fluttershy's neck. She rubs her shoulder against Shy's upper, gently leaning into her. Fluttershy blushes even more, closing her eyes with an embarrassed "Eep". She enjoys it though.. leaning back into Rainbow as much as her demurity allows her to. She turns her head into Rainbow's nuzzling a bit, rubbing her cheek against the top of RD's head.

"Heh.. your cheek is really warm," whispers Rainbow. She sticks out her tongue just past her lips, gently licking Shy's neck before moving her head up. She begins to rub their cheeks together, closing her eyes with a big smile. "You're really pretty, Fluttershy. And cute. And just _so _damn _adorable."_

Fluttershy's wings slowly spread out and her tail flicks once. She'd reply but she's barely able to speak.

Rainbow chuckles quietly when she feels Shy's cheek get warmer. She leans back, smiling widely at the beautiful yellow filly in front of her. Fluttershy lifts a hoof a little bit, shyly angling her head downward. She finds her head lifted upward by one of Dash's hooves, causing her tail to swish again.

Our cyan pegasus leans her head forward again, touching her nose to Shy's, smiling sweetly. Though greatly embarrassed as per the usual, Fluttershy manages to smile back but avoids eye contact.

"H-.. hi," she whispers.

Rainbow rolls her eyes, grinning widely. She starts to gently rub their noses together."Well . . hi . . there," she says, giggling quietly. "And how are you?"

Fluttershy closes her eyes, blushing all the deeper. "G-good.. v-very.. good.. right now.."

"Yeah. Sounds about right."

Shy giggles almost silently and slowly begins to rub back. With the silence that follows their adorable show of affection, Fluttershy starts to gain a minute amount of confidence. Right before she speaks, though, Rainbow says exactly what was on her mind.

"I like you. A _lot."_

"I-.. Mmh~.." starts Shy. "I like-.. I like you too.."


	20. Chapter 20

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are sitting directly beside each other, facing the campfire. Dash is holding out a stick with two marshmallows on it, cooking one for each pony. Shy is watching with a little smile, her head resting against her companion's shoulder.

"How many sh'mores do you shink you've evur had?" asks Rainbow, her voice slightly muffled.

With a quiet giggle, "Uhm.. well.. we go camping a lot.. and we always each ourselves full on those.. s-so, uhm.. maybe.. a few hundred..?"

Rainbow turns her head, setting the blackened marshmallows down on a plate. Fluttershy sets to work on her job, pressing them into crackers and chocolate with a hoof she's keeping clean.

Dash smirks at Shy, flicking her left ear."Heh. I noticed you really like candy and sweets. You must eat a lot, huh?"

Fluttershy finally starts to blush, having a hint of an idea about where this conversation is going. "Mmmn.. y-yeah.. sss-.. sort of."

"How much~?"

"Uhm.. a-.. a bunch.. I s-.. suppose.."

Rainbow smirks. "Mmn.. how do you stay so thin and sexy, then?"

Yup. There it is.

Flutters closes her eyes and bites her lower lip. She makes sure to enunciate very clearly and slowly to avoid further embarrassing herself. "Well... I.. have a fast.. metabolism.. an-"

Both of her ears jerk a few times when she catches herself stuttering. Rainbow stares at her, raising her head with a quirked brow.

"-and.. fl-.. flying with yo-"

"Heheh, I was just complimenting-slash-teasing you. Should probably stop there or you might become mute."

Shy finds herself pressing her cheek against Rainbow's neck, too flustered to say anything else. Dash slowly starts rubbing the top of her mate's head with her cheek, back and forth. "I know I keep saying this.." she says, "But you're just so effing cute. How could anyone even resist you? How could _anyone _be _mean_ to you..? Gods."

"Thank you.." comes the whisper. " . . You're not mean.. you never have been... and that really helps.."

"Heh.." chuckles Rainbow. A few moments of silent nuzzling pass.

"It was always my pleasure . . I've always cared about you. A lot.."

Fluttershy sighs quietly, speaking softly with some confidence about the subject. "And I care about you, Rainbow.. I really worry about you.. about your parents.."

"I know. You.. you really haven't seen anything.."

Fluttershy turns her head to look up at Dash, wearing a look of concern. " . . Why don't you tell anyone..?"

"I just did," says Rainbow, squeezing Shy with one leg.

" . . You know what I mean . . "

Dash sighs. "I know it sucks . . but they've got money, which I need for college down the road. So I have to deal with their sh-.. with their crap."

Fluttershy swishes her tail, pleased with Rainbow's self-restraint. That emotion disappears quickly underneath concern for her though. " . . Okay . . I'm sorry.."

"Pfft. All you've ever done is make my life better. What're you sorry for?"

Shy giggles quietly, starting to blush. "It- . . I was being sympathetic, not apologetic.."

"Heh.. thanks."

Fluttershy starts to nuzzle Rainbow, eyes closed.

"Hmhm.. you're unbelievable."

* * *

A short while and several more s'mores later, Ace and Hotshot descend toward the camp. They've been watching from the forest for just a couple of minutes to make quadruple sure that the cyan pony is treating their daughter right, and boy, she is. They watched with smiles the entire time.

With the sound of flapping wings, Rainbow quickly disengages her hoof from Fluttershy and both fillies sit up straight, staring down at the long-burning fire.

Ace laughs merrily, "Don't need to stop, Yellow Bee. Remember when we used to call you that~? Yellow Bee~?"

"Oh, you're so bad!" says Hotshot, playfully smacking Ace's shoulder.

Rainbow can't stop herself from smirking and looking at her fillyfriend. The only teasing Fluttershy has ever gotten used to was the teasing from her parents; but with Dashie present, it's a different matter. She gently nips her lower lip, looking down at the ground after her dad winks at her.

"Hey, Rainbow, check it out," he says. Ace reaches around himself to pull off a large piece of wood perfectly carved into a guitar. The body of it is even hollow already. "Neat, huh? Just need to tie up a bunch of strings made of the leaves off this poison plant in my pack."

Rainbow widens her eyes, standing up. "Woah. How the-.. how did you do that so fast..?"

"Heh. Practice.. and a special blade. You can really tell I want to hear you play, huh?"

Rainbow smirks, sitting down on her haunches now. "Yeah, I can. You won't be disappointed."

Hotshot chuckles as she sits down next to her husband. "He's easily amused so even if you suck, which I doubt, he'll love your playing."

Ace nods in agreement, pulling off his backpack. "Yeah.. but I've got a feeling about her. Prodigy, here."

Dash quirks a brow, tilting her head a little. "Prodigy, huh? I'll do my best to prove that right."

"We get it, we get it!" says Hotshot, laughing. "You're good! Enough talk about it! Let him finish so you can prove it!"

"Pfsshhh~," says Rainbow sarcastically. "Fiiiine~..."

Fluttershy, now recovered from her earlier ordeal, smiles a little up at her Dashie.


	21. Chapter 21

It's taking a long time for Ace to finish Rainbow's homemade guitar. He _does _have the shape of the guitar carved out, but utilizing strands from the special plant he found to make the strings takes a while to get perfectly right. Hotshot suggested that Rainbow and Fluttershy go through a walk through the forest-jungle.

"It's absolutely gorgeous!" she said.

Hotshot seemed a little excited in her persuading, prompting Rainbow to think that she wanted some . . alone time with Ace. Even after they spent a few hours getting the strings. Not a problem with Dashie, though! She wants some time alone with Fluttershy, herself.

Rainbow smirks at Fluttershy when they leave earshot of their camp. "Should probably give them at least a half hour.."

"Uhm.. an-.. an hour, actually," whispers Fluttershy, blushing. She quickly tries to change the subject "S-so, uhm . . "

"I've been craving a banana all day. Let's find a bunch!" suggests Dash.

With a shy smile, Shy nods at Rainbow.

They spend the next few minutes trotting around the forest together. The tents are in a small clearing with smoke rising from the campfire, so if they get lost they can simply navigate their way through the trees above and locate it that way. It doesn't become a problem for a while though, because they have fun making a competition of finding some bananas, racing from tree to tree in futile attempts to find them first.

Fluttershy doesn't like competing but she knows Rainbow isn't trying to best her; she just wants them both to have fun! So she greatly enjoys herself, actually getting into the little game they've made. They both assume that they have to actually rise up into the trees to find the fruit since the leaves are so thick and large, unaware that bananas in this forest branch directly off of the trunks of trees. It's a silly game, but a good way to pass the time.

After a few minutes, the surprising scarcity of bananas comes to an end! With quiet giggles, Rainbow and Fluttershy slow their search and stop near each other. They share a smile, Fluttershy blushing slightly.

"Well, I don't see any.." chuckles Rainbow, sitting down on her haunches to rest for a bit. "Oh well.."

"All this flying around has made me want some too.." murmurs Fluttershy. She's trying to force herself not to pant to avoid displeasing Rainbow with her inferior physique and is doing a good job of it, so Rainbow doesn't notice.

Rainbow smirks, glancing around the forest. "That just makes me want to find them more! Be your hero and what not."

Shy blushes quite a bit more at that, smiling. She looks about the forest in the opposite direction silently. They both slowly scan toward the same direction.. until their eyes rest on the same banana tree.

Both fillies turn to each other and make eye contact. They look at the tree. Back at each other. Rainbow grins and Fluttershy smiles nervously but determinedly. With surprising agility, and even surprising initiative, Fluttershy takes off first!

Rainbow sits in place for a full second, eagerly moving her hips from side to side with a grin. After Shy's head start is over, Rainbow propels herself from the ground. "Oh ho ho, bring it~!" she shouts happily.

Not caring whether she wins or loses, Fluttershy laughs.

Rainbow gets there first, unable to tame her natural competitive nature. She rests on a branch with her back to the trunk, legs dangling down tiredly. After a few seconds longer Shy gently lands on the big branch Rainbow's laying on, panting softly with a smile cast at Rainbow.

"PhhhhEW!" sighs Dashie, panting, herself. "I had to _work _for that, Fluttershy! Nice going!"

"Th-.. thank you.." comes the quiet reply.

Rainbow grins widely at Fluttershy for a few seconds before carefully standing up on her hind legs, yanking two bananas from their bunch. She's got one in her mouth and one in her hooves, perfectly comfortable with her sense of balance. She turns back toward Shy, who watches concernedly. "C-careful," she says..

Dash nods then jerks her chin toward Fluttershy. It takes a few times for Fluttershy to get what she means. "O-oh," she whispers. She opens her mouth, tilting her head back a little bit in preparation to catch it. She's already getting red again!

Rainbow closes one eye as if she's taking careful aim, then snaps forward and releases it. The poor doomed banana sails through the air near Fluttershy's head, and our yellow filly manages to catch it. She beams proudly at Rainbow afterward, lowering her head to drop it between her hooves. "Nice throw..!"

The athlete drops back down to all fours, carefully settling down into a resting position again. She spits out the banana between her hooves like Fluttershy, grinning at her. "Nah, that was a sucky throw. Nice catch!"

Shy giggles quietly, moving her head down to start peeling the banana by yanking off the top with her teeth. Rainbow does the same, actually perfectly mimicing her fillyfriend on purpose to tease. Evident from Shy's ever-deepening blush, she's successful.

Rainbow takes her first bite when she decides to stop teasing Shy, grinning. Neglecting her manners, she asks with a full mouth "How longsh's it been shince we left?"

"Uhm.. I.. actually have no idea.."

"Heh. That's fine! Let's average our estimates. How long do you think it was?"

With a slight smile, "Uhm.. ten minutes..? B-but.. time flies when you're having fun, s-so.. m-.. maybe thirty..?"

Rainbow grins, taking another bite of her banana. "Yeah.. I'd shay thirty minetsh, too. What're we going to do for a half hour?"

Shy waits a moment to swallow her bite before quietly answering. "We could explore.. and talk..!"

"Soundsh good to me!"

* * *

Ten minutes later the two fillies are walking up alongside a creek for fun, just wanting to see where it starts. Rainbow walks very closely beside Fluttershy, bumping hips together every other minute or so for fun. "Can't decide, huh? Oh, by the way, did you ever get that job at the zoo?"

Fluttershy giggles quietly. "Yeah.. I start in the summer.. an-.. and no, I can't really.. choose a favorite animal.."

"Heh, that's awesome. You'll probably be head of all animals or something by the time you graduate."

"Th-thank you," she murmurs, blushing. "You'll be a Wonderbolt before long.."

For once, Rainbow actually starts to grow a blush. She looks away, smirking. She's actually flustered, which makes Fluttershy smile at her turned head. "Heh.. yeah, maybe. Yeah, we'll see."

After a few moments of silence, Rainbow turns to smirk a little bit at her counterpart. "I really like you, Shy.. spending time with you is so fun and.. just.." she stops a moment to rub the back of her neck, turning forward with a shy smirk. "..fun. Yeah."

Shy bites her lower lip a little bit, stopping with her Dashie. She hesitates briefly but then moves over toward her. She rubs her cheek against the side of Rainbow's neck and closes her eyes. "I-.. I really like you too, Rainbow..."

Rainbow turns her head to rub her cheek against the top of Shy's head, smiling softly. She wraps her hoof around Fluttershy as well, tugging her gently.


End file.
